


Starting Today, You are an Assassin

by Zombie2315



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Rated For Violence, Reader is Miles' daughter, Reader is foreign to Japan, Romance, reader is an assassin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-16 20:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 38,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13061139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zombie2315/pseuds/Zombie2315
Summary: (Y/N) Miles arrived in Japan with one mission in mind: Erase as many Templars as she could. Her grandfather had given her a purpose after the death of her mother and, unknowingly, her father who she had never even known. At the age of fifteen, she traveled to Japan and began attending a prestigious and well-praised school under a scholarship that would inevitably interest a certain Ouran Host Club. Little did they know, said girl had an extensive and well hidden family history. Little did she know, in this club, she'd find the one thing she thought she'd never have a chance at having - love.(This follows the anime since I've never properly read the manga, Ouran High School Host Club belongs to Bisco Hatori and Assassin's Creed belongs to Ubisoft. I only own this piece of writing.)





	1. We Are Assassins!

**Reader’s POV**

 

_“Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember…” William spoke._

_“Nothing is true.”_

_“Where other men are limited by morality or law, remember…”_

_“Everything is permitted,” I replied, making my voice loud and clear._

_“We work in the dark to serve the light. We are Assassins.”_

 

 

I breathe a sigh as I think back to my initiation. I was thirteen years old when Rebecca found me, contacting and informing me that I was special, in a way. She said that she knew my father, a man named Desmond Miles, who she’d worked alongside for some time before his death. I was asked if, perhaps, I’d be willing to help her and her colleague, Shaun, since they were studying the Brotherhood of the Assassins and their history. It sounded mad, preposterous even – but who was I to complain, due to my mother’s death years prior, I was left in a children’s home and had little hope of living an exciting life. This was my chance.

 

And that’s how I met William Miles, my grandfather and the last family I knew of. He trained me to become an Assassin myself and Rebecca gave me access to the Animus, a way for me to view my ancestors lives and experience them as if I were doing it myself. I felt oddly close to these people – these _Assassins_ – now that I had seen them and their travels. I was the descendant of some of the greatest men in history and I never even knew it. Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Edward Kenway and Ratonhnhaké:ton - or Connor Kenway, for many who struggled with the pronunciation. But my family wasn’t where it ended, and despite not having their blood or seeing their lives, I was fascinated by the likes of Jacob and Evie Frye, the Assassins who operated in London alongside Henry Green during 1868 and Arno Dorian during the French Revolution. I felt obligated to continue on this path, that of an Assassin; to trust the blood in my veins and fight the Templars that want nothing more than to see the world burn beneath them.

 

All of this led to where I am now: fifteen years old and sat at a desk in one of the most prestigious schools in Japan, Ouran Academy. Shaun mentioned that it was possible that a Templar organisation may be in the country and needed to be dealt with if we were to keep the world safe from their hold, so I took it upon myself to investigate and keep an eye out. I’d been here for almost a month, reporting back to Rebecca and Shaun with my findings, though not many had surfaced in that time.

 

“Hey, (Y/N)?” The voice of a fellow classmate halted my train of thought, “I don’t want to be a bother, but do you remember the last section of our homework?” Thinking it best to nod and simply write down the assignment, I handed it to her with a smile on my face. “Thank you!” And with that, she turned her head back to her friends.

 

I hadn’t talked to many people so far, only speaking when necessary, but everyone seemed fine with that since I wasn’t causing any sort of disturbance. I gently ran my right thumb over a knuckle on my left hand, descending down the finger and feeling the tender and scarred skin – the Assassin’s mark. It happened just before I left for Japan, William said it wasn’t necessary to the Brotherhood anymore, it had become a thing of the past the same way amputating the finger had. But I wanted the mark, it felt… official, in a way. My excitement almost made the searing pain unnoticeable, then the adrenaline running through me as I displayed my first leap of faith wiped away any thoughts of pain from my mind.

 

That night, I became an Assassin.


	2. The Scholarship Student!

**Reader’s POV**

 

“Hey,” two identical looking males stood before me at the end of class, “You’re (Y/N), right? The new scholarship student?”

 

The boys seemed to share everything when it came to appearance, and if it weren’t for the uniforms sporting the school’s logo on each of their left sides, one might think that it was a perfect mirror-image. While one had his ginger hair parted to the left, the other had it to the right, both sharing the same amber eyes and facial structure. They even crossed their arms in opposite directions, one tucking the left arm under, the other: the right.

 

“I am her,” my voice was soft, seeing no reason to act aggressively. “You’re the Hitachiin Twins, aren’t you? Quite the celebrity pair around here.”

 

As they turned to each other, their expressions seemed prideful. Uncrossing their arms, one placed his around the other’s shoulders while said twin set his around the first’s waist. “Yeah, that’s us,” the one to my right said.

 

“We’re Hikaru and Kaoru, but surely you already knew that.” The second one had a deeper sounding voice than the other and if I looked closely, a slight bit more mischief could be seen in his eyes compared to his twin.

 

I offered the pair a smile as I checked my watch, hidden beneath the sleeve of my yellow dress. If it weren’t school uniform, I wouldn’t have hesitated to wear something more fitting to me personally, but I didn’t want to stick out too much. Being recognised as a scholarship student drew enough attention as it was. “I’m sorry to cut this conversation short, but I should be going. Busy evening.”

 

And with that, I was off. I ignored the surprised looks directed my way from the twins, keeping a calm and steady pace the entire way home and rethinking over everything I had learned since arriving in Japan. Where could I find the Templars stationed here? Who is their ring-leader? How many groups were actually scattered around the country? The beeping of my watch pulled me out of my thoughts, just now realising that I had already stepped inside of my cosy apartment.

 

Pulling back my sleeve, I press the small button on the side of the device, a friendly voice now filling my ears, “Hey, (Y/N). How’re things goin’?” Rebecca checked in often, most times just to see if I was alright but often with updates and information.

 

“Slow.”

 

“I know, I know. You’re bored,” she laughed, “Well, it might not be massively useful, but I found something and figured I’d run it by you. Turns out there’s this guy that goes by the name of Yoshio Ootori, he owns a great deal of business – but! He mostly focuses on the medical side of things, hospitals and doctoral staff, basically. I know what you’re thinking: ‘What does any of this have to do with us?’, well, he’s had previous affiliations with Templar groups in the area and by the looks of it – Assassins too. I can’t say I know who’s side he’s on though.”

 

“Thanks Becca, that’s more than enough. I’ll look into it.” Sharing friendly goodbyes, we end the conversation and I proceed with my evening routine.

 

 

**Third-Person POV**

 

The twins were sat in Music Room #3, both sporting the same look of contemplation as they gazed out of the window. (Y/N) was on their minds, the girl that wasn’t a blushing mess at the mere sight of them. _Is it a scholarship thing?_ They wondered.

 

“What’s wrong with you guys today? You’ve been oddly quiet,” the petit brunette voiced her concern, hazel eyes flicking back and forth as she waited for either -or both- to reply.

 

“Nothing important,” Hikaru declared, waving his hand in the air as if to dismiss her. “Just that new girl – the scholarship student.”

 

“Wait, scholarship student?” Haruhi hadn’t heard about this until now.

 

Just then, Kyoya does what he does best and appeared out of nowhere, laptop balanced on one arm while to other tapped at the mousepad. “Yes, she goes by the name (Y/N) Miles on the school records, however there’s not much else. No record of parents or any relatives for that matter. The only thing we have is her name and that she originates from America.”

 

“Wow, so she’s a total mystery…” the only female present mumbled.

 

“Oh my!” Few were startled to hear the loud and eccentric voice of the Host Club’s king as he strutted into view, one hand on his chest as the other raised to his forehead in a dramatic pose. “A young woman with little to her name, how tragic! She must be just like Haruhi and lives life as a simple commoner who was lucky enough to grace our academy with her presence!” His words caused said girl to deflate, wishing she had the energy to be mad but finding herself too putout.

 

She watched Tamaki rush over to the twins and begin to make their plan: one that would bring (Y/N) to the club room and give them the chance to find out more about her. Kyoya was now back at his usual table, typing away and likely managing future club events. She spared a quick goodbye to Honey and Mori as she passed them, deciding that now was the best time to make her way home and prepare a nice dinner for herself, as well as something that could be reheated when her father returned home from work.

 

 

**Reader’s POV**

 

I awoke the next morning to find myself splayed across my desk. I must have fallen asleep while researching this Yoshio Ootori man, though I can’t say I found much that I didn’t already know. He was a successful businessman that put the most effort into the hospitals he owned and the medical staff that worked for him, he has three sons: Yuuichi, Akito, Kyoya and one daughter: Fuyumi. None of this helped me decipher his affiliation with the Templars and the Assassins, however. He apparently owned a private police force, so he was well protected, which means that if I were to speak with him myself, I’d need to be extremely careful.

 

I completed my regular morning routine before walking to school, desperately hoping that by the time I would arrive home, Rebecca would have some good news for me. I’d checked my schedule for the day and felt elated when I realised I had History, it felt oddly satisfying to watch someone stand in front of a class and speak about events in time that I had essentially lived through. Luckily enough, we were studying the American Revolutionary War which, as Connor, I had seen from the middle of the battle field.

 

Unfortunately, until further notice, that’s the highlight of my day.


	3. A Secret, Uncovered!

**Reader’s POV**

 

The school day was over and I couldn’t wait to get home – the sooner I did, the sooner I can call Rebecca. But my eagerness to leave the school grounds was quickly reigned in as I heard my name being called, turning to see a raven-haired boy casually stride towards me.

 

“(Y/N) Miles, if I am correct? My name is Kyoya Ootori,” I felt myself stiffen at this. _He’s Kyoya, the son of Yoshio Ootori_. _This could be an opportunity for me_.

 

Plastering on a relaxed smile, I greeted him, “Hi, yes, I’m (Y/N). I don’t believe I’ve seen you around yet.”

 

“No, I’m a second-year so we don’t share any classes. I was just curious about some things, as I like to take it upon myself to welcome new students, but when reviewing your school record there seems to be a lot of missing information.”

 

I remained calm under his sceptical gaze, ridding myself of the need to respond in any way that could cause suspicion. “Well, I’m afraid I’m just not that interesting. Truthfully, my parents aren’t around anymore and I don’t have a schooling history worth recording. I was sent here out of pity by a distant relative who I’ve never even met.” It wasn’t the full truth, but I certainly can’t spill all my secrets to someone I don’t know or trust. Plus, the ‘tragic life’ card might hopefully convince him to drop the questioning.

 

“I see,” his tone didn’t seem convinced, “I apologize for seeming rude, I’ll let you be on your way. Good day, Miss Miles.” Lightly bowing his head, he proceeded to walk away from the school.

 

 _I can’t waste this chance_. Keeping my footsteps light and swift, I followed him out of the front gates and down the road to a black limousine. I swerved to the side in order to stay out of sight, pulling a black hoodie out of my bag and putting it on to prevent my face from being easily seen. Once the limo set off, I chased it as inconspicuously as possible, hiding around corners and cutting through parks when possible. Eventually, the car pulled into a large estate that was heavily guarded at all entrances. _I’ll come back later, I can’t do anything else while wearing this god damn dress_.

 

Still keeping myself as out of sight as I could, I removed the hoodie when I was close to home. My wrist watch started lightly buzzing minutes away from my house, so I pressed a button on the side to stop the incoming call, knowing that Rebecca will understand that I was yet to arrive home.

 

As soon as I set foot inside, I walked over to my desk and opened the laptop sitting on the surface, opting to video chat with her instead. “Becca, you called?” I joked when her face appeared on the screen.

 

“(Y/N)! Yes, I did, because good news – no more sitting around. We’ve found a lead: Matsuno Kikugoro, owner of this low-key business chain that’s actually pretty successful. He’s been popping up in some strange places as of late though, trying to offer sketchy deals with companies that keep shutting him down, but by the looks of it, he’s working for something bigger,” she stopped to presumably take a breath. “There’s been word of him attending some festival not far from you in two days. I’ll send you his file.”

 

Smiling at this new information, I bid her a goodnight and exited the call, determined to find more information about this Matsuno before the festival.

 

 _Matsuno Kikugoro, owns a chain of businesses, of what not many are sure_. _No children, divorced as of last year and has had money going in and out of multiple bank accounts over the past five months_. _Who is he dealing with? This has got to be Templar work, for sure_.

 

 

Before I knew it, it was two days later and the local festival was in full swing. Stalls set up in a large park and the surrounding streets, drawing in families and groups of friends that excitedly wandered around to see everything. Many of the festival goers wore traditional kimonos while some stuck with their everyday -or slightly more dressy- clothes. But to keep myself hidden, I wore only a black hoodie that was zipped all the way to the top and dark jeans. I needed to make sure that my face was never seen while tailing Matsuno, so after exploring the area and eventually finding him, my hood was pulled as far over my head as possible and successfully concealed my face.

 

I followed him from the shadows for over thirty minutes, relieved when he finally decided to take a smoke break out of sight. In a quiet corner of the festivities, he stood behind a stall and played with his lighter, cursing the metal object when the flame wouldn’t ignite.

 

 _Now’s my chance_.

 

**Kyoya’s POV**

 

Tamaki insisted that the Host Club attend the latest commoner festival, claiming that it would ‘bring us all closer to Haruhi’s lifestyle’. So here we were, wandering almost aimlessly through the rows of stalls, each one either selling food, trinkets or chances to win prizes.

 

“Senpai, will you stop pushing me?” Haruhi grunted, glaring at the blonde male who was indeed pushing her around, occasionally getting distracted by a stall full of shiny trinkets.

 

The surrounding area seemed quiet, a lot of the stalls in this corner of the fair already packed away and empty. Honey hung loosely from Mori’s shoulders, the taller man lifting him higher up so he could eat his sweets without trouble. “C’mon, Tama-chan! Let’s keep exploring!”

 

We all followed Mori to the end of the path, turning right so we could start on the next one, but the second the older man froze, everyone went silent. He crouched slightly and stood in a defensive stance, eyes locked in surprise at what was unfolding before him. Everyone saw it happen, glued in place as the dark figure leapt from the cherry blossom tree and knocked down the man in a dark green kimono.

 

The larger man didn’t put up a fight, laying on the ground as the smaller figure hovered over him, crouched down and making their voices impossible to hear from this distance. Without sound, my eyes found it easier to put all focus onto a familiar sight, a symbol in the form of a burn mark on the hooded person’s left ring finger.

 

“ _The Templars will always win!_ ” The raspy voice of the man on the floor was heard. _Templars?_ His words were put to an end when the kneeling figure thrust their arm down, silver metal glinting in the dim light and eradicating all life from the man when it plunged into his neck. _They stabbed him…_

 

I had to admit, even I was lost for words as the figure stood up and fled the scene.

 

 

**Reader’s POV**

 

When I arrived home, I stripped out of the hoodie and jeans, immediately setting them aside to be washed and wiping down my hidden blade. No evidence can be left. _Yahiro Kichibei, Ohta Katai, Shirai Shika and Mitsugi Masaki. My new targets_.

 

 

_My blade sank into his chest as the force of my falling body pushed him to the ground. His expression was one of shock, disbelief that this had happened so fast. “W-why…?”_

_“You know why. Matsuno Kikugoro, you’re awfully close to the Templar Order. Tell me, are you a fully-fledged member, or just a lackey?”_

_He coughed, “I… I don’t want to die like this… I had so much more to do…!”_

_“Your work is done. Now, tell me the names of your associates.” The blade on my right arm pressed into his neck, but never cut him._

_He whimpered, “Yahiro Kichibei… Ohta Katai… Shirai Shika… and Mitsugi Masaki… Now, please don’t kill me…”_

_“I’m sorry, but this must be done. We work in the dark to serve the light.”_

_“Fucking Assassin…” His teeth clenched as his eyes burned holes through me, “The Templars will always win!”_

_I raised my arm again, pointing it downward and forcing the blade to cut through his jugular. His words faded, along with his life._

 

 

After that, I fled. I couldn’t risk anyone seeing me near a dead body, one that I created, no less. Before preparing to sleep for the night, I called Rebecca to update her on the situation and that I planned to confront Yoshio Ootori within the next few days.


	4. Meeting Mr. Ootori!

**Reader’s POV**

 

The day was no different to most; I woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast and left for school. Classes were the same as usual, I would sit near the window and take notes of what the teacher said while occasionally answering questions directed at me. However, today I couldn’t help but feel like I was being watched.

 

The lesson ended and Class 1-A filed out of the room. I took the opportunity to glance at everyone as I stood from my seat, no one looking my way or doing anything of suspicion. Except one.

 

Kaoru Hitachiin, the soft-spoken twin that had introduced himself with his brother only a few days ago. He seemed to be talking to the shorter boy with brown hair with his brother at his side, but he gave himself away when his eyes flickered over to me, widening when they locked with my suspicious gaze. Playing off the situation, he placed a hand on the shoulders of his companions and casually led them out of the room.

 

 

**Kaoru’s POV**

 

 _Damn it, she caught me…_ I was mildly embarrassed that the new girl caught me looking at her, but I wasn’t sure why. _I just want to figure her out, right?_

 

She was a mystery to everyone, so far. Maybe I was so curious because Kyoya asked us all if we noticed anything odd about her, offering no explanation besides a curt ‘I’d just like to know more about our new scholarship student’ and that usual ominous smile. I shook the thoughts from my mind, surely we’d find out more soon enough, so no use fretting about it.

 

“Kaoru? You in there, man?” I jumped slightly at the hand waving in front of my face. Hikaru stood before me, one eyebrow raised and a slightly concerned look on his face, “You haven’t said anything for like ten minutes. And you haven’t moved since we got here.”

 

 _Here?_ I blinked, eyes scanning the environment to reveal that we were now in the club room. _When had we got here?_ “I’m fine,” I chuckled, waving him away, “Just tired, is all.”

 

 

**Reader’s POV**

 

I spent almost the whole weekend contemplating what was going on with the Hitachiin boy. But I had to put the thoughts aside until a later day, because tonight was the night I confront a certain Ootori man.

 

It was surprisingly easy to sneak past all the security, every trained professional that stood guard never noticed me slip past them in the same black hoodie and jeans from the other night. I envied my ancestors just a little bit, they were able to get away with wearing such amazing and beautiful robes, but I’d never get away with it in the twenty-first century. _A fitted hoodie will have to do_.

 

I scaled the side of the modern mansion, gluing myself to each shadowy crevice as not to be seen by anyone on the ground. I took the first opportunity I could find in the form of an open window, acrobatically swinging my legs forward and landing silently in the dimly lit hallway, I slowed my breathing and focused. Through the act of practicing what my ancestors called Eagle Vision, I could hear everything within a certain range, my ears acting as my eyes and revealing nearly every person in the home. Very few guards – the only ones inside were all downstairs and five non-threatening entities resided upstairs. Two were on the same floor as me, seeming similar in many ways. _Probably the two eldest Ootori sons_. The other three were on the floor above, meaning that I would need to find a staircase up. Two of them were in the same room, one making more movement than the other and a familiar voice saying ‘Fuyumi, please stop rummaging through my dresser’. _Kyoya_.

 

Creeping down the hall, I eventually find the main staircase that took me up to the next floor. I made sure to walk slowly and silently, making as little noise as possible and sticking to the walls. Reaching the top of the stairs, I peeked down each end of the hallway – empty.

 

And off to the right was my target. From the echo in the room, it seemed to be a study. Just like on the staircase, I stayed close to the walls, being light on my feet until I was right outside the door. I listened as the person inside shuffled through papers and rose from their seat, walking towards the farthest corner of the room. I turned the knob carefully, bracing the door with my shoulder to control the speed that it would open and slipping inside without a sound. There he stood – Yoshio Ootori, his back turned to me as he examined a bookshelf behind his large wooden desk.

 

“Mr. Ootori,” I said, voice clear and strong. Said man looked over his shoulder, apparently unconcerned with the stranger in his quarters.

 

“I don’t believe I was expecting anyone.” He turned fully to face me, walking back to his desk and sitting in the large chair. “This must be quite important if you had to break into my home.”

 

“I didn’t break anything, if that makes you feel better.” I shifted my feet to lean on one leg but never moved closer to the older man. “I’m here to ask you about some past business you’ve had with a little-known organisation.”

 

His eyes remained fixed to the papers in front of him, “You’re an Assassin, then? I should think you smarter, if that’s the case. It is true that members of the Templar order have approached me in the past, but I would never smear my family name with such business. This isn’t the first time that Assassins have suspected me of dirty work, but while I am no ally of the Templars, I am no ally of the Assassins.”

 

“It’s a good thing I’m not asking you to be an ally then, isn’t it? I just want names, if you’re willing to help.”

 

Finally, his eyes were on me, focused on the shadow cast by my hood. “And how exactly would that benefit me?”

 

I smirked. _Exactly what I expected_. I took a few slow steps forward, tilting my head down just a tiny bit so only the bottom half of my face would be visible under the hood. “Less competition, right? Less people to get in your way as you climb that business ladder to the top. I don’t want you to think of me as some kind of hired hitman. This situation could benefit us both and I’m the only one really risking anything.”

 

“And what exactly are you risking, might I ask?”

 

“My life, of course. I took a vow to serve the innocent, and as it stands, you’re no threat to any innocent people. Therefore, you wouldn’t need to worry about me giving up your name. I’d sooner die than put a guiltless person in harm’s way.” It was true, I believed strongly in the Brotherhood and as an Assassin it was my job to protect the weak and helpless.

 

He crossed his hands and leaned both elbows on the desk, cold and calculating eyes scrutinising my every word. “Alright then. Though, I wish to be no closer to your movement than simply giving names.”

 

“Of course not, Mr. Ootori.” I pulled a slip of paper from my pocket, holding it out for him to take, “Now, please, tell me. Do these names ring any bells?”

 

 

Half an hour had passed and within that time, I deduced that he was a trustworthy man. Harsh and proud, but trustworthy. So, I had removed my hood, introducing myself with only a first name. He cared little. It didn’t matter, after all, he’d already confirmed the names given to me by Matsuno, as well as additional details about the businesses they ran.

 

Arriving home in the early hours of morning, I sent the information I acquired to Rebecca and Shaun, trusting that I would get a response in the morning.

 

 

The day was, again, nothing out of the ordinary. At least, the morning wasn’t, because as soon as I sat at my desk in Class 1-A that afternoon, I found a small note folded up and just sitting there.

 

_(Y/N) Miles,_

_Please come to Music Room #3 at the end of the day._

 

No signature or name. _What’s so special about Music Room #3?_ The only way to find out would be to go there myself after school ended.

 

_Great._


	5. The Truth, Revealed!

**Reader’s POV**

 

I stood at the doors to Music Room #3, anticipating what might be on the other side. It could be someone trying to kill me, I wouldn’t exactly be surprised, but I need to play my cards right and figure out what they want.

 

Taking a deep breath, I place my hand on the right door and give it a good push. It slowly swung open, revealing a large room that seemed no more special than the rest of the school. What did stand out, however, was the seven people in the middle of the room, each stood with a calculating gaze. I recognised three of them from my class, the Hitachiin Twins and a rather feminine looking boy that they tended to sit with, then I saw Kyoya, the boy whose house I broke into the previous night to speak with his father.

 

The other three I had never met before, a shorter blonde boy that sat on the shoulders of a tall dark-haired male, and a charming looking blonde that stood in the centre of everyone. The group obviously heard the door open as they all turned to look at who had been the one to open it, seeming to all go rigid as they saw me standing there.

 

_Time to play innocent_ , “Hi, I’m sorry to bother any of you, but I was asked to come here after school today.” My sweet tone didn’t seem to sway any of them as they continued to stare.

 

“Yes, that would be me who left you that note,” the dark-haired boy with glasses stepped forward.

 

“Mr. Ootori, what is it you wanted to see me for?”

 

Waving me over, I closed the door behind me and watched as the other students almost cowered with each of my approaching steps. When I was a mere few steps away from the tall boy, he stood with his hands in front of him, clutching a black notebook and watching me with an intense stare. “What exactly did you do before coming to Ouran, Miss Miles?”

 

“Like I said before, nothing special. I was home schooled.”

 

“And how much of that home schooling consisted of fighting styles, or perhaps how to be… sneaky?”

 

The small smile dropped from my face quickly after that. “Mr. Ootori, if you have something to say, please just say it.”

 

He used the middle finger of his right hand to push the round spectacles further up his nose until they rested as close to his eyes as they could get. I assumed the light that glinted off of them was supposed to intimidate me, but I’ve been up against worse. “Who was that man you murdered at the festival four days ago? And why did you do it?”

 

The silence was almost deafening now. Eventually, you might hear a pin drop. With a steady intake of air, I answered, “His name was Matsuno Kikugoro, a business owner that works for some very bad people. It’s my job to stop those people from hurting innocent ones, and that’s why I killed him.”

 

“So… you’re some kind of assassin?”

 

I searched for who spoke and found it to be the same ginger-haired twin that watched me in class. Kaoru was looking at me from the corner of his eye.

 

I nodded, “That’s exactly what I am. Don’t think I’m some kind of murderer or serial killer. I’m an Assassin, I kill people to keep others safe, not for fun.”

 

“Why are you in Japan specifically? Surely there are greater threats in your home country, or even somewhere else?” Kyoya acknowledged.

 

“The Japanese Brotherhood has been smaller than the others for some time, anyone that knows of it now will know it as the Osaka Brotherhood. I didn’t lie to you when I said that my parents were gone, but I was home schooled by my grandfather and some fellow Assassins. When I was ready, he set up my scholarship and helped me move to Japan to attend Ouran Academy, that way I would be able to find these corrupt assholes and whatever king pin is ordering them around.”

 

Kyoya’s stern gaze stuck, but the group behind him shifted around, even the tall and tough-looking one. But still, some of them looked less uneasy than before. It was the feminine brunette that took a step forward first, the tall blonde behind her looking just about ready to cry as he watched her walk towards me.

 

He looked into my eyes for a moment before speaking, “I trust her.” His gentle smile surprised me. He barely knew me, and the only thing he did know was that I’ve killed people. “You’re not a bad person, from what you’ve told us. And honestly, I’d love to get to know who you are behind the Assassin.”

 

“Oh! My Haruhi is so kind!” the blonde male behind him squealed, causing him to visibly sweat-drop.

 

“Well, I’m very grateful that you see it that way.”

 

As I smiled at the boy, I saw Kaoru still watching me, his gaze seemingly more curious than nervous now. I started to find myself wondering more about him myself.


	6. Jungle Pool SOS!

**Reader’s POV**

 

The large dome like facility created a relaxing illusion with its trees, sand, sun and water. It really made you feel like you were standing in some sort of tropical getaway.

 

“Haruhi! You wanna go check out the waterslide?”

 

“Hang on! What’s the deal with that pullover you’re wearing?”

 

Lo-and-behold, the reasons why I was here in the first place. Kyoya had apparently extended an invitation to me -through the twins- to visit the Tropical Aqua Garden with the Host Club, on the grounds that they wished to know me better. Though, from the deceiving smirk that the Ootori boy often wore, I’d say he was keeping an eye on me and wouldn’t hesitate to use my secrets as blackmail.

 

Haruhi turned away from the mischievous two, pulling at the collar of her yellow hoodie, “Oh, this thing?” She awkwardly explained how, after finally being shoved into a swimsuit, she was approached by Tamaki and told that ‘A proper young woman should not show that much skin until after she’s married’.

 

“So, you’re not going to swim?”

 

“Hold on, you do swim, don’t you?”

 

“I can swim just as good as the next guy, but this isn't my idea of fun. I'm not that big on water parks. We're just gonna spend all day goofing off. Honestly, I'd rather be at home. I don't understand what's great about this place, anyway? I mean all you really need to play in the water is a plastic pool,” she finished, exhaling with tiredness.

 

The ginger boys then started questioning what exactly she meant by a ‘plastic pool’. I shook my head and stood next to the poor girl, as I’d discovered her to be just this morning after listening to her story about owing the club money for a rather expensive and very broken vase.

 

Tamaki soon joined in, berating the twins for showing Haruhi up and making it seem like _she_ was the ignorant one. _These guys are off their rockers_.

 

“Never mind that, we’ve got a question for you.”

 

“Why did you make Haruhi put on that yellow monstrosity?”

 

The blondes only response was a loud gulp.

 

“I would’ve thought for sure that you would be all-“

 

Both twins mimic the taller boy, “I wanna see Haruhi in a swim suit!”

 

“Not making her cover up like that,” Hikaru finished on his own.

 

His brother nods beside him, “It was surprising.”

 

They both take a step back, evil grins plastered on their faces as they mumble together, “I know what he's up to. He made Haruhi cover up because he didn't want anyone else to see her in a bathing suit. Do you really think that's it? He must be one of those jealous pervert types. That's pretty twisted.”

 

“That's not it at all. I was just trying to protect her innocence as any father or guardian would. After all, even if she's wearing a swimsuit, it is not decent for a lady to walk around half naked in front of boys,” Tamaki declared.

 

After a stern glare from the small brunette, Tamaki watched as Honey dragged her off to the side. The twins were at both of my sides in an instant, “Boss, if you don’t think it’s decent, then why are you okay with (Y/N) wearing a bikini?” they pointed out, referring to my black and white striped bikini that left my legs, stomach and arms uncovered.

 

He recovered from his beaten down state in a second, “Well, (Y/N)’s culture is much different to ours, since she grew up outside of Japan! She’s also scarier than Haruhi, so I would never try to defy her choices!” His statement was… oddly proud, considering he just admitted to being scared of me.

 

“That excuse sounds kinda half-assed. And why are you scared of me? It’s not like I’m going to hurt you. Do I just _look_ scary?” I barely realized that I was talking to myself as a loud whirring of an engine sounded behind me. I saw that Tamaki was no longer in front of me and the twins weren’t at either of my sides, they were all watching a new female that was posing on a large platform. “Who the hell is that? And where did she come from?”

 

“That’s Renge, the club’s manager. She’s been around for a pretty short amount of time, so you’re not exactly missing much,” Kyoya spoke, appearing out of nowhere. “Don’t worry, she doesn’t know about your little secret. For now, it’s strictly between you and the hosts.”

 

I watched him for a moment as he walked towards the rest of the club who were discussing Honey. “Thanks… I guess.”

 

 

“Hey, (Y/N)! Wanna join us for a water gun fight?” Kaoru called out.

 

“Yeah, I bet you’re a great shot,” Hikaru finished, tossing me one of the plastic guns. I held it to my chest for a little while, considering whether or not I should join in. Eventually, I raised from my seat and leisurely walked over to them.

 

They smiled brightly as I stood in front of them, water pistol held in both hands and ready to be fired. “Awesome, you can be paired up with Tamaki. That way it’s two against two.”

 

Tamaki stood a few feet away, eyes blazing with determination to defeat the twins. The second that the twins called ‘Go!’ I was running for cover behind a palm tree and watching as Tamaki ran straight for them. I managed to land a lot of hits on Kaoru without him even knowing where I was, eventually soaking Hikaru’s hair and getting caught hiding in one of the shorter trees.

 

“Get down from there so we can soak you!” both of them shouted, wide grins on their faces as they ran away from a screaming blonde.

 

Tamaki did a sideways jump, missing the twins as they blocked his shots with large pieces of wood with tiki carvings. He did an impressive flip before landing on a banana peel and skidding straight into a large totem pole, the eyes all lighting up red before a loud rumble drew everyone’s attention to the water. Honey screamed as a giant wave crashed down and sent his inflatable ring flying – not a minute later, Mori was crashing to the floor after slipping on another banana peel, forced to watch helplessly as Honey disappeared out of sight.

 

“Gentlemen! We’re going after Honey-senpai!” Tamaki yelled, hand pointed toward the ceiling.

 

 

Most of the paths that would take us downstream were blocked by alligators from the park’s tropical exhibits. Therefore, we had to walk nearly eight-hundred metres through jungle terrain and, eventually, rain, thanks to the ‘squall’ as Kyoya called it. While the club members walked on the ground, I jumped through trees to get a better view, but was sadly greeted by nothing but leaves and the occasional snake. I was instructed to climb down and join the group in a wooden gazebo until the rain calmed down, and I felt relieved that I could take a small break from jumping from tree to tree.

 

I took a deep breath and tuned out the commotion behind me, focusing on the sounds outside the gazebo and seeing with my ears the same way I did that night at the Ootori estate. I tried to listen for Honey, hoping that he’d spike something in my senses and appear in this special vision I’d learned to use, but unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen.

 

“You okay over here, (Y/N)?”

 

My eyes closed, the voice interrupting my concentration, but I wasn’t too bothered by it considering I couldn’t find anything. I looked to my left to see Haruhi, her big brown eyes watching me with concern. “I’m fine, Haruhi. Just… listening.”

 

“Listening for what? Honey-senpai?”

 

“Yeah. Growing up as an Assassin, you learn how to do things, like using your ears as your eyes.” I fiddled with my hands, leaning my forearms against the wooden half-wall. “Some of my ancestors called it ‘the sight’, a way of seeing things that most people can’t use.”

 

Her eyes were locked onto my left ring finger where the Assassin’s mark sat, burned into my skin. Her silence wasn’t one of judgement, more like one of deep thought. “That’s pretty cool, (Y/N). You really are talented in all of this, aren’t you?” Her carefree smile was soothing and contagious, yet at the same time, it was terrifying. A person as easy to talk to as her could be dangerous, she could find out my deepest secrets, fears, interests, all to somehow use against me. But a girl as innocent as her couldn’t be that evil, could she?

 

 

“Yeah, girl, you’ve got nothing to worry about with this family. Dad’s single, works in a local transvestite bar. Mom passed away years ago and Haruhi got into Ouran on a scholarship from scoring the highest on the entrance exam. They’re totally clean,” Rebecca said through the receiver.

 

I stood behind the group, a safe distance away so they couldn’t hear my phone conversation, “Okay, thanks, Becca. Guess I just freaked myself out about nothing.”

 

“Don’t stress, you’re all good. But where did this suspicion come from anyway?”

 

I overheard Hikaru mention something about going to the beach and the club seemed distracted with the topic, “Well, I kinda got seen taking out Matsuno last week… But! These guys don’t seem all that bad, the only one I’d really consider a threat is Kyoya. But considering I just made a sort of alliance with his father, I don’t think there’s much to worry about.”

 

“Wow, (Y/N), you’re really handling yourself over there, huh?” I didn’t need to see her face to know she was smiling, light tapping in the background suggesting that she was typing away on her keyboard.

 

I chuckled, “Yeah, it’s not so bad.” Looking up, I saw the twins jogging up to me. “I should get going, I’ll talk to you later, Bec.” After hearing her own quick ‘Later, ‘gator’ I hung up the phone and watched the two boys smile widely.

 

“Wanna join the club for a beach trip next week?” Hikaru started.

 

“We’d love for you to come along!” Kaoru finished.

 

This group never stops, do they… _Well, it can’t hurt, can it? I might as well go_.


	7. The Sun, The Sea and The Host Club!

**Reader’s POV**

 

“So… why’d we come to Okinawa?”

 

“Because Kyoya’s family has a private beach here.”

 

The environment was beautiful, I have to admit, but when you’ve seen even half of the places I have throughout history, this barely holds a candle to any of them.

 

“Why couldn’t we have gone-“

 

“To the Caribbean?”

 

“Or even Fiji?”

 

I nodded, agreeing with the twins, “I have to agree. Somewhere near the Caribbean Sea sounds really appealing right now.” I thought back to the time when I used to Animus to see Edward Kenway’s life as a pirate captain, the islands he discovered and explored. They were breath-taking.

 

“Do you think a commoner like Haruhi has a passport?” Kyoya said, not really caring about the discussion.

 

I laid back on the sun-lounger in my blue bikini and orange skirt that tied off at one hip. The twins insisted that I wear one of their mother’s designs, and as soon as I showed interest in the blue two-piece, they decided that it would look perfect with a makeshift orange skirt.

 

Speak of the devils, “I can’t believe he fooled us,” Hikaru said, picking up the beach ball that rolled over to me.

 

“Who’d have thought he’d bring the ladies with us?”

 

“We certainly didn’t expect it.”

 

A few feet away, sat under an umbrella, Kyoya was writing on a black clipboard. “You were invited on this all-expenses-paid vacation for a reason and that is to keep our clients entertained.”

 

“We know, but with the ladies here-“

 

“Haruhi can’t change into her swimsuit!”

 

The black-haired male pushed up his glasses, “If you want to ogle someone that badly, (Y/N)’s right there.” I made a noise of surprise, looking at the mysterious male with a mix between shock and humor. I almost missed the side glance I was receiving from Kaoru who, upon being noticed, quickly darted his eyes in the opposite direction. _That’s the second time I’ve caught him watching me_ …

 

“Don't worry. I got it all under control. My little angel shouldn't be prancing around in her swimsuit, at least not in front of two perverts like you. And then, once the sun has begun to set, Haruhi and I will take a romantic stroll along the shore together,” he spoke wistfully, his face slowly becoming a darker shade of red before he started squirming on his side. “It'll happen just like that. The greatest day of my life. I don't know if I can handle it.”

 

The girls looked concerned, “What’s the matter with Tamaki? Is he having a seizure?”

 

“I wouldn’t worry about it.”

 

“He gets like this occasionally.”

 

Nearly thirty minutes later, the girls were crowding around Haruhi, marvelling in her bravery after she removed a centipede from the crab Tamaki was holding. The twins and Tamaki were huddled together and trying to figure out what Haruhi might be afraid of, spurred on by Kyoya who presented an ulterior motive for the winner in the form of pictures from Haruhi’s middle school days.

 

In the end, I was the only one not competing, but I wasn’t allowed to escape the group that easily. While Hikaru and Kaoru were planning and setting up their trap to figure out Haruhi’s weakness, Honey and Mori spent some time relaxing on the sand with me.

 

“So, (Y/N)-chan, are you afraid of anything?” Honey asked with his adorable smile.

 

“I don’t really have any small fears, maybe just one big one. But I might wait until another time to let you know what it is,” I smiled back. Mori offered me a gentle pat on the head before looking back to the ocean. I had a feeling he was the type to analyse people and silently judge their character. _Maybe that means he trusts me?_

 

 

The sun had finally set, casting a beautiful orange hue over the beach and town behind it. I sat on a stone wall with the twins as they continued to contemplate what Haruhi could possibly be afraid of.

 

“What kind of heroine is she? She’s gotta be afraid of something, right?” Hikaru grumbled.

 

“Understandable that (Y/N) isn’t really scared of anything, but Haruhi’s almost the complete opposite.” I assumed he meant that as in ‘Haruhi isn’t a trained Assassin’ and not a way that I should take offense.

 

Tamaki gained our attention with a happy cheer, causing us to reposition ourselves on the wall and watch him reveal a bucket full of snakes, “I found some rat snakes. Surely she’ll freak out when she sees these.” _Does he really think those are rat snakes?_

 

“Anyone would think those are creepy, so it isn’t really a weakness.”

 

“Hold on,” Kaoru began, “I thought there weren’t any rat snakes in Okinawa…”

 

I sighed, “Because there aren’t. Those are Okinawa habu snakes, also known as protobothrops flavoviridis. They’re a type of venomous pit viper.”

 

Silence. The three stared with blank faces for nearly ten seconds before Tamaki’s loud screaming echoed across the beach. He chased the twins with the bucket, crying out and asking what he should do with them. I followed not far behind, their running speed not being much to compete with, but when we heard the girl calling for help and pointing to the cliff, I began going as fast as I could.

 

Reaching the large rock, I ran straight for the guy that had his arms around the two girls and gripped the back of his sleeveless hoodie, throwing him with great force to the solid ground. I heard Tamaki call out to Haruhi and saw her get shoved off the edge and into the water below. My instincts kicked in and without hesitation, I leapt off the cliff, arms spread out at my side before gradually forming a point in front of me, allowing me to penetrate the water’s surface and sink deeper than Haruhi already was.

 

While I hooked my arms under her own, I heard another splash, looking up to see Tamaki reaching down for the smaller girl. I kicked my legs and in no time at all, we’d resurface, both of us supporting the weak brunette. “Tamaki, you get her to the beach. I’m gonna make sure those guys can’t run off.”

 

Without hearing an argument from the older boy, I began climbing the side of the rock. I hadn’t got much chance to climb and free run since coming to Japan, so I was a little slower than usual, but that didn’t stop me from pushing myself and reaching the edge within minutes. When I pulled myself over the lip of the cliff, I saw the twins standing beside Kyoya as they watched the thugs run away, one of them limping slightly.

 

“Guys!” They turned to me, the twins looking nothing less than shocked. “Why’d you let them go? They almost got Haruhi killed!”

 

“How’d you get back up here?” Kaoru mumbled, not acknowledging my question.

 

“I thought you jumped off after Haruhi,” his brother continued.

 

Before I could angerly ask again, Kyoya stepped up, “I got their information. I’ll sort everything out from here. No need for any further violence, the twins roughed them up just fine.”

 

I sighed, nodding and letting my anger ebb away. “We should get down to the beach before Tamaki and Haruhi get there.”

 

We watched them emerge from the water, Haruhi being carried bridal style by the Host Club’s king while I clutched onto the towel Kaoru had draped over my shoulders just moments before. She looked tired while Tamaki looked rather sombre, both emotions a stark contrast from Honey’s loud and high-pitched voice.

 

“Haru-chan!”

 

“Boss!” Hikaru said worriedly, looking at the limp figure in his arms.

 

Kyoya draped a white shirt over Haruhi as Tamaki spoke lowly, “Where’d they go?”

 

“We took their ID cards and respectfully asked them to leave. The girls all went back to the hotel and I called a doctor. He should be arriving here any minute now.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

The exchange almost seemed professional, but you’d have to be a fool not to see the emotions building up in Tamaki’s eyes.

 

“I’m fine, you guys. I don’t need a doctor,” the girl said, stepping down from the host’s arms.

 

Through dripping hair, Tamaki spoke with those previous emotions slipping through, “What were you thinking? You know, you're not like Honey-senpai or (Y/N). You're not a martial arts master or an Assassin. Why did you confront them? What made you think you would stand a chance? You against two boys?”

 

“But it doesn't matter that they're boys and I'm a girl. I was there. I had to do something. There wasn't any time to think-”

 

“That’s no excuse, you idiot! Don’t forget, you’re a girl!”

 

While I agreed that Tamaki was using the wrong argument, she still should apologize to everyone for making them worry so much. “Look, I'm sorry you had to come and save me, senpai. But I don't understand why you're so mad at me right now. I don't think I did anything wrong.” _But, of course, she’s not going to_.

 

“You don't think so? Fine, whatever you say. But I'm not speaking to you until you can admit that you were wrong!”

 

 

After what felt like a lengthy dinner, followed by everyone but Kyoya and Tamaki lecturing Haruhi on what she did that deserves an apology, I was left alone with the twins, Honey and Mori.

 

“Hey, (Y/N),” Kaoru asked, looking past the empty seat between us, “How _did_ you get back to the top of that cliff?”

 

Hikaru’s face appeared from behind his brother, “Yeah, and that dive you did after Haruhi was pretty cool. Like you’ve been jumping off cliffs for years.”

 

I laughed at the two, “Yeah, I guess I have been doing jumps like that for a while. Us Assassins call it a ‘leap of faith’. Maybe I’ll show you a real jump, some time, like off of the school’s clock tower.” The boys, minus Mori, seemed flabbergasted. “And I got back to the top of the cliff by climbing, another thing that comes easily to most Assassins.”

 

“No way!”

 

Maybe letting these guys know about me wasn’t a huge mistake, maybe I could become a part of their little family. _I wouldn’t mind that, especially if I can find out why Kaoru keeps looking at me the way he does_.


	8. A Challenge from Lobelia Girls' Academy!

**Reader’s POV**

 

“I guess you’re not half bad, (Y/N).”

 

I looked up from the desk I was sat at and gave Hikaru a confused smile, “Really, now?”

 

The twins had just previously sent poor Haruhi off to buy a new supply of instant coffee, making a show of cleaning her up before carrying her out the door. I found the whole show quite amusing and chose to ignore the voice in my head that told me all of this was ridiculous.

 

_You still know nothing about these people, so why are you getting so close to them? Stop acting like you’ve made friends._

 

But… maybe this was a golden opportunity to make friends. Friends I never had growing up…

 

“You okay there, (Y/N)? You looked really zoned out,” Kaoru’s soft laughter drifted through my head and it took me a moment to realise he’d actually said it. I only smiled at him and nodded, not really having anything to say. “Well, if you’re up for it, we’re having a cosplay event today at the Host Club. You wanna join us?”

 

Hikaru pulled out a few pictures and placed them on the desk, “These are some of the dresses you have to choose from. Personally, I think you’d look good in the green one, don’t you agree, Kaoru?” His brother promptly agreed, wearing the same cheesy smile as the other twin.

 

“I’m not a club member, why would you want me to wear one of these?”

 

“Maybe we just want to dress you up?” they spoke simultaneously, their questioning shrugs clearly sarcastic.

 

I couldn’t keep the smile from my face as I shook my head and drew my attention to the five pictures before me. Each one was of an identical mannequin that donned a different dress in each shot, all different colours and styles. None were really special in my opinion, but the one showing off a layered red dress did catch my eye, the way the top layer split after the darker chiffon belt and revealed an under skirt of the same colour and fabric.

 

I placed my finger on the image and pulled it slightly closer to me, “This one.” The boys shared a surprised glance at each other, apparently not thinking that I would agree to their silly plan so quickly.

 

 

The dress fit perfectly, somehow, and the skirt flowed around my ankles as if a non-existent wind were pushing it from side to side. The elbows separated at the bend of my arms and connected the sleeves with the same dark fabric as the belt and under skirt, giving it a traditional and old-fashioned vibe. As soon as I emerged from the changing room, all eyes were on me.

 

The twins gave me four thumbs up, “Who knew deadly could also be gorgeous!”

 

“My, my. Such an exquisite sight to behold!” Tamaki danced over in his red and white armour, kneeling down and taking my hands in his own, “Darling, you look simply divine.”

 

“Per favour smettila,” I said, smiling slightly at the bubbly prince.

 

His cheeks dusted pink at my words and he tried to laugh it off, “That sounded beautiful. May I ask: What did you say?”

 

“Please stop that.”

 

He skulked off and sat in his own dark corner for a while as I watched the twins laugh. They seemed intrigued with my knowledge of other languages and kept asking me to say different things, the both of them wanting to learn some Italian for themselves. Eventually, Kyoya insisted that everyone get into position for the guests and I was left to stand off to the side with no idea of what to do.

 

A hand on my arm caught my attention as I was gently pulled towards the sofa placed in the middle of the room. Kaoru smiled down at me with a bashful look in his eyes as he placed me between him and his brother, their arms looping behind me to sit on the other boy’s shoulder.

 

I wasn’t given much time to think about the strange act, the hosts now focusing on the double doors that swung open to reveal two girls that wore uniforms for another school. One was tall with sandy blonde hair that reached far down her back while the other was shorter, hair cut above her shoulders and shining slightly darker brown in the light.

 

“Welcome, ladies.”

 

Despite their obvious lack of reaction, Tamaki took it upon himself as the Host Clubs leader to welcome the girls personally. “Well, well, well. I see you ladies are from another school. I certainly hope we haven’t startled you. We love first time guests.” I didn’t have to guess hard to know that most girls at Ouran would be screaming and fainting over his charming way of speaking, but these girls remained expressionless. “I’m glad you’ve come, princesses. My darlings, even if the world were to be destroyed, I would put my life on the line as your faithful knight and servant! I will protect you.”

 

“Oh my, do you really think you’ll be able to protect us? That’s awfully arrogant of you, wouldn’t you agree? You think that’s what a woman wants to hear? Well, you’re wrong.”

 

“C’mon, give them a break, Sister Suzuran. Men are just lowly lifeforms who don’t care about anything other than perpetuating their testosterone-latent image. By protecting us, he’s actually attempting to disguise the fact that he is weak and unable of even protecting himself.”

 

“You’re such a clever girl, Hinagiku.”

 

Tamaki raised from his crouched position in front of the girls, “Don’t you think that’s a little harsh? Fine then, what do women like you want to hear?”

 

“Maybe something like… ‘I would never leave my lover alone’.” Past the two girls, a new face appeared with a familiar one by their side. “If we fight, it’ll be together! If we fail, we fail together. Even if I were to die, I promise you that I will never leave your side, my love.” The short-haired girl in an unfamiliar uniform swung Haruhi around before placing her back on her feet, taking her hand and kneeling before her just like Tamaki had done before. The men in the room seemed astounded by the small kiss that was placed against the smaller girls hand, but I wasn’t focusing on any of that. I was too busy seething at the girls for their previous comments. _Most of my bloodline consists of great men that have saved lives. How dare they walk in here and make it sound like they did it all for their own selfish desires_.

 

“Benibara, we thought you’d never show!”

 

“What are we going to do with you? So, tell us where you found this lovely young lady.”

 

“I just met her outside of the school. She may be dressed as a boy, but I knew the truth! She has such pretty, maidenly eyes.”

 

Haruhi looked like she’d rather be anywhere else right now, “Thanks, I guess…”

 

While the strangers fawned over Haruhi, Tamaki began to shake with anger, launching himself towards the girls and demanding that ‘Don’t go touching my Haruhi without asking my permission!’, making me wonder if there were some underlaying emotions between them that I wasn’t currently aware of. In the blink of an eye, Tamaki was sucker punched back into our direction and the club gathered around his weeping form.

 

Renge appeared to give everyone a brief explanation of what exactly the Zuka Club was and how much she admired them for their feminine strength and pride. I didn’t quite see the appeal in it myself.

 

“You, my dear, would fit in perfectly at our school. I can see the strength you possess both physically and emotionally, as well as the maidenly beauty you radiate from your entire being,” Benio said, looking directly at me. “Why bother wasting your time here, with these poor excuses for men?”

 

Reeling in my emotions, I put up a mask of indifference, “I’m afraid our views don’t quite line up,” I replied, sitting on the sofa next to Kaoru who, along with the rest of the club, had changed back into his normal uniform. “Plus, I’ve got my own reasons for staying at Ouran that don’t really need to be addressed.”

 

I diverted my eyes to the bag on Kaoru’s lap, then to the jar of coffee in his hands. He was looking at the different brands and makes while Hikaru played with his gaming device. I tried to ignore the fact that I saw Kaoru spare more than a few glances my way while I watched his hands rifle through the bag, but was drawn into a silent conversation with him when he handed me one of the jars. He mumbled something about never seeing it before and assuming that it must be new; I couldn’t help but smile widely at his minimalistic topic of conversation.

 

“It was fun to sneak a peek at the notorious Ouran Host Club,” Benio spoke again, suddenly dressed in a masculine dressing gown.

 

Honey looked over his shoulder to the uninterested club members, “Hey guys, are we really notorious?”

 

“Yeah,” Mori replied.

 

“And to think they're dragging these sweet young girls down with them. The host club's president may be a pretty little halfer, but he shouldn't be using his looks to create a fictitious romance. Attempting to fool the heart of a pure young maiden is demeaning. Your so-called club activities are nothing more than debasing macho fantasies. I promise you, we will bring you guys down. The Ouran host club will be abolished.”

 

In sync, the three Lobelia girls saluted, “All hail Zuka Club!”

 

Getting tired of this ridiculous show, I remove myself from the sofa and excuse myself to the changing room. As much as I liked the dress, it wasn’t really the outfit I would choose to wear when lounging around, so I quickly changed back into my yellow Ouran uniform and hung the beautiful red dress on a hanger nearby.

 

The watch beneath my sleeve buzzed lightly, the dim light visibly blinking as I pull the sleeve past the device. Rebecca wanted to call me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, tapping on the screen a few times before the dial tone could be heard and Rebecca’s name appeared on screen.

 

“Hi, Rebecca. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

 

“You’re in a prestigious Japanese school for a few weeks and your manners are already improving. I’m impressed.”

 

“Ha ha. What’s up?” I laughed sarcastically.

 

The usual tip-tapping of keys could be heard, “Yahiro Kichibei, got some information on him, including an address. If you’re gonna take him out, I’d say slipping in and out of his house would be pretty simple for you.” She took a quick breather, taking the second after to drink from the mug of coffee likely sitting beside her. “You’ve also got Shirai Shika living on the edge of a town called Karuizawa. I’ll send you more about her when I find it.”

 

“You’re a star, Becca. You know that, don’t you?”

 

She laughed pridefully, “Yeah, I’m pretty great. I’ll let you go now, you’ve probably got all those new friends waiting on you.”

 

With a few more banterous comments back and forth, we both hung up the phone and I finally made my way back into the club room. I was relieved to see the Lobelia girls gone and the room, somewhat, quiet. The hosts were huddled in a circle, mumbling about who knows what – but I’m in a nosey mood so in a minute, I’ll know what.

 

“What’s going on over here?” I asked from behind the twins.

 

The two jumped, making an opening in the circle and revealing a few surprised faces, “(Y/N)! Where did you come from!?”

 

“From the changing room, where you all saw me go earlier… To change…” The faces didn’t change, Kyoya and Mori keeping stoic expressions. “Never mind that,” I waved, “What’s going on?”

 

 _That_ triggered the response I wanted, Tamaki taking lead and gripping me by the shoulders, “My darling (Y/N), we need your help!”

 

“How good are you at doing other people’s make-up?” Kaoru’s voice came from my left, his frame hanging over Tamaki’s shoulder and mirroring his brother from the opposite side.

 

 

I laughed, leaning slightly closer to the ginger-haired boy to pin his hair away from his face, “You guys really stop at nothing to prove a point, don’t you?” I combed through strands of short hair with my fingers to make sure none of it fell in front of his face.

 

“Yeah, I guess,” he chuckled, his cheeks tinting pink. I pretended not to notice as I organised the make-up between us, grabbing a green tube of undercoating first to prevent any blemishes later.

 

I used the brand-new blender to spread it over his face before applying foundation, taking a moment to decide what eyeshadow to use that would complement his dress; the final decision being a lime green. _Never thought I’d say that about a dude_ … “Close your left eye for me.” I felt awkward applying as much as I was, but Tamaki ordered that those wearing make-up had to look slightly over the top. In other words, they had to look like they were dressing in drag. “You have very pretty eyes, Kaoru…” I whispered to myself, catching myself too late and realizing that I’d just complimented him in a rather intimate way.

 

“Huh?” I tried to apologize, but he just shook his head, “No, no, it’s fine! I was just surprised that you knew it was me.” He sounded bashful at first, but when he finished, his eyes were asking a silent question.

 

“You guys don’t get told apart often, I’m guessing?” He mumbled a quiet ‘No’ as I tilted his head up to finish the other eye. “Well, maybe it’s because of those ‘Assassin skills’ that I have,” I joked, “But I don’t think it’s all that hard to tell the difference.”

 

Blinking his eyes after I release his chin, he gives me a deep look, but I find it hard to take seriously with the eyeshadow now in place. “Think you’d be able to tell me how?” His voice remained low, like the conversation was supposed to be kept a secret.

 

“Well, your voice is slightly higher in pitch than Hikaru’s and whenever you guys are together, he seems to give off the vibe of a leader. You know, like he does everything first and you follow. Maybe that ties in with the fact that I think he could be ten percent more evil than you.”

 

He grinned as I held a tube of lip-gloss inches away from his lips, “Ten percent more evil?”

 

“That’s just my opinion.” When the make-up side was finally done with, I began styling his hair, letting his bangs hang as they usually would and pinning everything else back. “Okay, let’s get these extensions in and I’ll get your brother fixed up.”

 

If only I could stop thinking about those eyes.


	9. Tell Me About Kaoru Hitachiin

**Reader’s POV**

 

_“Hey, (Y/N). We should hang out sometime. Just us three, don’t you think?”_

_“Yeah! I know, Hikaru – we should take her to that café near the edge of town!”_

_Tilting my head in their direction, I give the twins a befuddled stare, “Why do you want to spend such quality time with me all of a sudden?”_

_“We want to get to know you more, silly!”_

 

 

The café was small, simple and cute while also looking elegant and expensive. _Too expensive for me_. “I feel bad that you guys are paying for all of this, you know?” My fingers played with the fine china tea cup that held a hot beverage inside, fingertips ghosting over the edge before picking it up by the handle and taking a sip.

 

“Don’t worry about it. The costs here are pretty reasonable, so I don’t mind.” I shook my head, laughing at how silly it sounded. Now I understood what Haruhi meant whenever she said ‘Damn rich people’. Though, I couldn’t help noticing how he said ‘I’ instead of ‘we’.

 

“Well, thank you.” Kaoru smiled at me from across the small table. I had to admit, he looked handsome in his everyday wear, but he always looked handsome regardless. _God, I’m turning into one of his fangirls_. “You said you wanted to know more about me. What do you want to know?” Right now, it was just Kaoru and I; Hikaru was supposed to join us later since he had homework to finish.

 

Putting down the menu he was currently looking at, he placed a hand under his chin and made a show of thinking, “How about when you were a kid? What was that like?”

 

I breathed in deeply, “I was eight when my mother passed. Cancer. She always made everything seem like it was fine, so when she died I was just… lost. I was shipped off to a children’s home since there were no records of my next of kin – that they knew of, at least.” I finished my statement by shrugging. There was nothing really special about my childhood, so unfortunately the only things I have to say are depressing as hell. “When I was thirteen, Rebecca came to the orphanage with Shaun; the two closest things I’ve ever had to friends. Before now, that is,” I looked up at him as I said that, earning a bashful smile. “They talked to me about how they knew my father and how he died only a few months before. It wasn’t long after that when I met my grandfather, William, who became my legal guardian. He trained me to be as strong as I am.”

 

“Woah, I’m sorry about your parents.” I waved away his apology, it wasn’t something that affected me anymore, after all. “You really never had any friends?”

 

My only response was a shake of the head, “I was a pretty shy kid, so before my mom died I just kept to myself. The kids at school never seemed to notice. I was kind of a loner,” I laughed, not bothered by the fact. “It doesn’t matter now, though, because I think all of that loneliness was just building up for the time that I would eventually meet the Host Club. I’ve gone from zero to seven, even if one of them is just keeping me around to make sure I’m not a big bad criminal.”

 

“Kyoya’s not always so bad,” he smiled, “He often seems harsh from an outside perspective, especially if there’s nothing for him to gain in a situation. But he loves this club more than he cares to admit.” I contemplated telling Kyoya about the deal I have with his father. He’s a smart guy, he could be useful, and if he really is all about self-gain, then this could be an opportunity to prove himself useful to his father.

 

“C’mon, enough of my sob story. Tell me about Kaoru Hitachiin,” I poked, my cheeky smile causing him to laugh awkwardly.

 

I saw quite a bit of myself in the Hitachiin Brothers. They both spent so long being isolated of their own accord, but the difference was that they _wanted_ to be alone because they _needed_ someone to know who they were. The closest they ever got to liking another person in their childhood was a maid who stole from their family; the heartbreak they felt after she left and told them that probably no one will ever tell them apart, it made my own heart ache.

 

“But then Haruhi came along and knew which was which. That felt almost incomprehensible, I don’t even think Hikaru has fully accepted it. But then you came along and proved that you can also tell us apart. I feel kinda spoiled,” he scratched the back of his head, chuckling as red dusted his cheeks.

 

“You used to refuse others because they couldn’t see you as anything but a twin… You wanted to be seen as a single person and not just one of a pair.” His silence spoke volumes. I was right. I reached across the table to place my hand over his, “Some people don’t look close enough. I know that you love your brother, but I can also see that you feel selfish for feeling the way you do. I’m telling you, it’s okay to want to be seen individually, it doesn’t invalidate that he’s your brother. You guys have a bond that almost no one is going to be able to understand because they haven’t had it for themselves. You’re unique, and you’ve obviously used that to your advantage since starting high school.”

 

He looked down at my hand, still sat over his own, and ghosted his thumb over my knuckles. “You really have a way with words, don’t you, (Y/N)?” His smile made my heart race and I could feel my cheeks heating up. His next words were so quiet, I pretended not to have even heard them.

 

“I’m glad that I’m getting to know you so well…”

 

We exchanged small talk for a while longer until Hikaru made his entrance, poking fun at his younger twin brother by asking how his date was going. The previous conversation was forgotten and anything that was spoken of after was initiated by Hikaru, me and Kaoru not really knowing what else to say at this point.

 

I found it so easy to talk to Kaoru, yet I wasn’t sure why. Talking to Haruhi seemed easy because of how laid back she seemed to be, she was an open person that didn’t judge a book by its cover. But Kaoru just admitted that he and his brother spent most of their lives judging people – hell, they were bullies. But he regrets that part of himself, he wants to be better for both himself and his brother, because someday they might not be able to share everything the way they do now. And Kaoru knows it.

 

I distracted myself from that by thinking about what a date with Kaoru would actually look like. _Maybe it would look like this_ …


	10. A Dinner With The Ootori Family!

**Reader’s POV**

 

It was that time again, time to sneak into a place that couldn’t keep me out no matter how hard people tried. Yahiro Kichibei was within my grasp and tonight, he dies.

 

The house was big enough to be called a small mansion, the exterior looking much more traditional than that of the Ootori’s, but that just meant easier access through somewhere outside. He had few guards stationed outside and by using my advanced sight, I could see most of the security inside too. Not many.

 

I made quick work of sneaking through the garden and up the side of the building, deciding that entering through the attic was a good approach, especially since Yahiro was on the third floor. I double checked that my hidden blade was securely strapped to my arm before quietly sneaking down into the hallway below. I only had one guard to get past and thankfully, I could stay out of his sight by slipping into one of the empty rooms lining the hallway while he patrolled the floor. Once he was down the hall where I’d come from, I had a straight, clear line to Yahiro’s office. It was best if I didn’t leave a trail of bodies, having one casualty was enough.

 

The door didn’t make a sound as I held the handle tightly and closed it behind me. The bastard had his back turned to me, hands fumbling with a decanter of whiskey and attempting to pour it into a smaller glass.

 

I waited with bated breaths, waiting for him to put down the larger piece of glass. I didn’t want him to drop it and alert any guards. By the time he turned around, whiskey glass in hand, I was right in front of him in my dark jeans and hoodie, face mostly hidden from sight. Before he could make a sound, my blade had cut through the skin of his stomach and he began to fall. The glass didn’t shatter, thankfully, as it lost momentum mid-air due to my foot blocking its path while my arms clung to the dying man to lay him down.

 

“Yahiro Kichibei.”

 

“Why… Who are you?”

 

He coughed weakly, the blood slowly travelling up to his throat. _I must have just nicked a lung_. “Who I am doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you’ve brought this upon yourself. The plans for a children’s hospital, what happened to them?”

 

“I was told to throw them out! He had bigger plans for that area!”

 

“Who did?”

 

He winced, closing his eyes for a second before opening them and spitting blood in my face, “Like I would tell an Assassin like you.”

 

“Your friend Matsuno was quite happy to give up your name, but I guess that was just him hoping that I’d let him live if he did,” I used my left sleeve to wipe the blood from my cheek. He wasn’t going to speak, he was one of the ‘loyal’ ones. “I will find this boss of yours, and I will deliver the same punishment to him that you have received tonight.”

 

As his mouth opened to scream, my blade sunk deep into is neck, effectively cutting off his air flow and causing him to choke quickly. I watched his life drain away and blood pool around his body. I had to make sure he was gone before leaving.

 

The mission was a success.

 

 

I woke up to the sound of loud knocking at my door. _Who could be here at… eight o’clock in the morning on a Sunday?_ Dragging myself out of bed and into the main room, I reached out for the door knob and turned the key with my other hand. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened the door, but I was still surprised when I saw a tall man dressed in a professional-looking suit.

 

“Miss (Y/N) Miles?” I hesitantly nodded my head. “You have been invited to dine with Mr. Yoshio Ootori tonight at seven.” He handed me a white envelope before bowing and making his exit.

 

“…Okay?”

 

I closed the door and went straight to my desk, leaning back in the chair as I slipped my nails beneath the paper, tearing open the envelope and pulling out the letter inside.

 

_Miss Miles,_

_I would like to invite you to dinner this evening with me and my youngest son, Kyoya. We have something to discuss. A car will be sent to collect you for 6:30PM and escort you to the Ootori estate._

_I look forward to your attendance,_

_Yoshio Ootori_

 

The slightly exaggerated pleasantries forced a laugh from my throat, I just found it that funny. “Yoshio Ootori wants to sit down with me and his son to talk about ‘business’. Alright, then. Guess I should go pick out a dress.”

 

 

As the car pulled up into the driveway, I smoothed out my simple dress and breathed out a sigh. The driver parked the car and another man dressed in a suit opened the back door, extending a hand for me to take and helping me step out of the car without falling over my heels.

 

“Thank you.” He responded with a nod before gesturing for me to follow him, leading me to the front door and escorting me inside.

 

We continued to walk through the house until we reached the empty dining room. “Mr. Ootori will arrive shortly. Please, take a seat while you wait.” And with that, he was gone. I looked around the room, not feeling very intrigued by the house’s style considering I’d already been here before. So, I focused on the dining table and sat down at one of the pre-prepared placemats, the head of the table at my right, and the third placemat directly in front of me.

 

Upon hearing the door open, I turned to see Yoshio approach with well-paced steps. “Thank you for coming, Miss Miles.”

 

Standing up to offer him a respectful bow, I smiled. “Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Ootori. And please, (Y/N) is fine.” He nodded his head passively, standing next to his chair as he waited for his son to enter the room. When he did, Kyoya looked more than I little caught off guard, his eyes shifting from me to his father repeatedly.

 

“Father, you said that we had a guest, but I wasn’t aware it would be a fellow student of Ouran Academy.” Of course, his father shouldn’t be aware that Kyoya knew I was an Assassin. Maybe we can change that, his father wanted him to join us for a reason, after all.

 

“As it seems that you’re already acquainted, please, both of you take a seat.” I slid myself back into the seat I’d previously been in and crossed my legs. Soon enough, two men dressed like butlers entered from a door behind me that likely led to the kitchen, one of them carrying one plate while the other carried two. Once the plates of delicious looking food were set down, we started to eat and I anticipated the moment Yoshio would tell me why I’m here. “I’m sure you’re both wondering why we’re here.”

 

I swallowed my bite, “I assume it’s about Yahiro Kichibei?”

 

“Yahiro Kichibei?” Kyoya asked, “The man who was found dead in his home this morning?”

 

“Yes, Kyoya. Thanks to his death, the Ootori’s are now the owners of a large plot of land. We’ll be building a children’s hospital there like the original plans intended.” Kyoya’s eyes were locked on his plate for a while and I could tell that he didn’t want to over step the boundary with his father. “We’re here to thank (Y/N) for her help in our success.”

 

I could see Kyoya’s hesitance, so I decided to take the wheel, “Your son is very smart, Mr. Ootori. I’m guessing that by having him here, you’re planning to let him know about our arrangement?”

 

Yoshio’s eyes glanced up at me briefly before looking at his son, “She’s right, I think that with the both of you attending the same high school, it would be beneficial for you to know what she can do. She approached me a few weeks ago with an offer, I accepted under the circumstance that my involvement would be minimal.” He returned his attention to the plate in front of him. “You see, son, she’s an Assassin. A member of an organisation that works to keep the peace all over the world.”

 

“I see…”

 

“She is very useful to us, therefore I want you to understand that she is an ally. For now.”

 

Kyoya and I shared silent eye contact for a while, an understanding between us that this wouldn’t be an issue. Yoshio didn’t need to know that Kyoya already knew about me being an Assassin.

 

Dinner continued in silence, anything else that Yoshio was planning to say would likely be said after.


	11. Covering the Famous Host Club!

**Reader’s POV**

 

The sun was shining pleasantly over the school grounds as the Host Club and I sat out in Heian Era clothing. I was once again roped into club activities by the twins and Tamaki, told to wear a light pink outfit that hung from my form and made me feel slightly weighed down, but at the same time I felt comfortable.

 

“So, the Host Club took you in so you could make more friends? That’s so sweet of them!” The girls around me giggled, hands gripped to their chests and practically vibrating with excitement.

 

I begged the hosts not to put me with any of the girls, but they were all in such good moods today that they ignored me and insisted that speaking with a bunch of girls would be fun. Lying was kinda fun, right? “Yeah, being a foreigner in a new place is kind of intimidating, but the hosts have made it so much easier. They’re such good guys, and I can see why they love speaking to you ladies so much. You’re all so lovely.”

 

Again, they squealed at my words and sweet smile. _These girls will believe anything_.

 

“Haruhi, duck!”

 

The girls ran off to watch the hosts’ crazy antics after Tamaki tackled poor Haruhi into the bushes. He screamed at Hikaru, blaming him for the ball that came close to ‘Snuffing out the light of Haruhi’s life’ despite the object losing momentum long before reaching her. He and the twins bickered back and forth before Tamaki lined himself up to kick the ball.

 

“Well, check this out! Starlight Kick!”

 

It was such an impressive kick, I stood beside the twins and waved farewell to the ball that was out of sight within the blink of an eye.

 

 

“Really, we're terribly sorry about that.”

 

The Newspaper Club’s president sat at his desk, fake smile plastered on his face, “Don't worry. It's no big deal. Could've happened to anyone, right? Just a ball flying through a window and hitting me upside the head.”

 

“Please accept our apology,” Tamaki asked, voice soft and genuine.

 

I was unconcerned with the boy’s words, something about a cover story; I was too busy reading through various newspapers with Hikaru and Kaoru. The latter nudged me with his arm, directing my attention to a ridiculous story about two students whose parents were fighting because of an arranged engagement supposedly gone wrong. I quietly chuckled with him.

 

“I didn’t know we had a newspaper club,” Haruhi said from her place on the floor, brushing away pieces of broken glass from the shattered window pane.

 

“It’s more gossip rag than newspaper.”

 

“Yeah, like a trashy tabloid. It's filled with stories about scandalous love affairs, family power struggles, and junk like that.”

 

“It’s just a lame gossip rag that specializes in stirring up scandal.”

 

The twins sent a glare towards the club’s president, “And everybody knows it’s all lies, so nobody reads it anymore.”

 

He looked surprised for a second, like a guilty man that was caught in the act, but quickly played the remorseful card. “You know, I guess we have kind of lost sight of the truth because we've been so worried about drawing in more readers. It's a shame we're just now realizing our error. Now that the paper is at risk. We finally realize what we should have been reporting to the students of Ouran.” He stood up and bowed, his only two club members by his side, doing the same. “Help us, please. For our last paper of this semester, we'd like to do an up-close special edition revealing the charms of Ouran's Host Club members. I'm begging you. Without your help, our club will close.”

 

“You can count on us,” Tamaki began, “On behalf of the Host Club, I-“

 

“We’ll have to decline,” Kyoya stepped in, shoving the blonde aside before he could dig a hole too deep for anyone to climb out.

 

Tamaki tried to argue, but the black-haired boy was having none of it and insisted that the other man’s medical expenses will be covered if he so wishes. That was when the Newspaper Club members started trying to gain sympathy, ‘Ah! My head is killing me!’ and ‘Oh no, I’m getting dizzy again!’.

 

“Oh, I’ll give him something to cry about-“ I started, taking one step forward before the twins restrained me by my arms, “This fucking guy. See how he likes it when I give his head a _real_ injury. Trying to gain sympathy from me- fucking asshole…” I grumbled lowly so the others couldn’t hear.

 

Kaoru couldn’t resist giggling, “You’re cute when you’re all riled up, (Y/N).”

 

“Shut up.” I gave up trying to get closer and relaxed in the twins’ arms.

 

As Tamaki vowed to help the other club get their fresh start, Kaoru began leading me to the door, Hikaru doing the same to Haruhi. “Well, count us out.”

 

“You're way too trusting, boss. We can't just go along with everything you do forever,” Hikaru said.

 

“Yeah, we’ve had enough,” Kaoru finished.

 

 

“Well, he’s obviously upset with us.”

 

“Yeah, he hasn’t even changed clothes.”

 

Kyoya sighed, “I hate it when he ignores us when we're right in front of him. He's such a child.”

 

“Nah, Tama-chan’s just a lonely guy, you know?” Honey piped up from his place at a table with Mori.

 

Said boy was curled over himself on the floor, rolling the ball from earlier back and forth with one finger. He was sulking. “A club is like a family. Their family is about to be broken up. I feel sorry for them.”

 

Haruhi mentioned that it might not be that bad of an idea to help the Newspaper Club. The twins gave their reason for not wanting to do it, as did Honey who spoke for his cousin too. “(Y/N)?” She looked at me with those large brown eyes, hoping that I would give a good reason for helping the club that I inwardly, and kind of outwardly, hated.

 

“Sorry, but I’m with the twins on this one. Plus, I _really_ don’t like them already.”

 

She turned to watch the silent and moping blonde dejectedly, none of use feeling surprised when he started giving us the puppy dog eyes. With each second he looked at us, everyone was caving in and I hoped that Kyoya could just say _no_.

 

“There will be some conditions.”

 

 _Fuck_.

 

“The outline for their article will be submitted by us. Interviews are strictly prohibited. And it is vital that our clients' identities be kept confidential.” I coughed, getting his attention. “And (Y/N) will not be mentioned at all, so the Newspaper Club should have no reason to speak with her.”

 

 

“ _The Daruma doll fell over! The Daruma doll fell over! The Daruma doll fell over! The Daruma doll fell over! The Daruma doll fell over! The Daruma doll fell over! I saw you move, Hikaru and Kaoru..._ ”

 

I smiled at their silly antics, leaning against the opposite side of the three that Tamaki was leaning on and reading my book while the club played. It was quite funny to watch the boys act so childish, fascinated by a game that children played in elementary school. This game, The Daruma Doll Fell Over, reminded me of one I played back home called What Time is it, Mr. Fox?, where ‘Mr. Fox’ had to call out what time it was, counting down until they reached midnight. The other children then had to run in the opposite direction until they reached a marker without being caught by Mr. Fox.

 

It was also rather entertaining to watch the Newspaper Club attempt to get information from Haruhi, doing what all bad reporters do and trying to put words in her mouth, but Haruhi being Haruhi, she made it hilariously difficult for them.

 

A game of Can-Keri started and quickly resulted in the school newspaper’s president getting hit over the head again. When I looked around, the only hosts I could see where Kyoya and the twins, the latter running in my direction before scooping me off the ground, arms hooked under my own as my legs hovered in the air. “Come on, (Y/N)! Let’s go!” I couldn’t find the energy to ask where exactly they were taking me.

 

I found myself being carried into the Newspaper Club’s home base and gently set on the large desk in the middle of the room. The twins sat on either side of me, Hikaru on my left, Kaoru on my right, both placing one leg on the table so their knee was to their chest. “You guys are very strange, you know that?”

 

They chuckled, leaning in at the same time to bump my shoulders with their own. Our eyes locked on the double doors when voices could be heard in the hallway.

 

“ _I'm writing the article._ ”

 

“ _But wait, Mr. President_.”

 

“ _It's too dangerous to write gossip about Suoh. You don't have any evidence, sir_.”

 

“ _Who needs evidences? All I have to do is expose him. Everyone will see it. If I set my mind to it, I can imagine any number of articles that would cause a commotion among the idiots at this academy. I'm going to expose Tamaki for the twit he is._ ”

 

As the door was pushed open, silence hung in the air.

 

“So, we were right all along.”

 

The president’s jaw clenched, “You three…”

 

“Well, I guess it was pretty obvious,” Hikaru continued for his brother.

 

“The boss is the only one who hasn't caught on yet. He can be really dense when it pertains to anything about himself.”

 

“I should warn you, if you threaten him, there will be consequences.”

 

Kaoru’s voice was dangerous, somehow serious while still retaining that mischievous ring, “Are you ready to have the Hitachiins and every other club members' family as your enemy?”

 

“I knew it. You're nothing but his lackeys. Tamaki's holding his parents' power over all of you!” He deluded himself into believing that Tamaki was such a terrible person because he wanted it to be true. All for the sake of a failing newspaper.

 

Honey’s sweet as honey voice came from behind the three boys, “That's not true. We don't hang out with Tama-chan because of his parents. We love him. We all like being around him and that's why we choose to be here.”

 

“He’s… an enigma. But personally, I think that’s a good thing.” I felt proud that the first thing I’d actually said to these guys was something defending Tamaki. He didn’t deserve all their hatred.

 

He refused to give up, vowing that he would bring the entire club down with his newspaper, but was quickly shut up by Kyoya who removed a small silver disk from the medical kit on the desk. “Let me explain it to you in terms you can understand.  
You would do well to remember that the Ootori group and the Hitachiin family alone own enough stock to remove your father from his position as president of the Komatsuzawa publishing firm. However, we would never do something like that. We are not like you. What we strive for is fundamentally different.”

 

 

“It’s really sweet that you guys are so close, you know?”

 

The twins looked up at me from their plates of cake, “The club? Well, yeah, we are a family after all,” they grinned.

 

“You’re a part of the family too, (Y/N)!” Honey jumped up, catching my eye with his enthusiastic movements.

 

“He’s right. Just like Haruhi, we have welcomed you into our hearts and I cherish you as if you were my own daughter!”

 

I didn’t resist the grin that stretched across my face at Tamaki’s flamboyant words, they were so genuine and kind and… well, they were so Tamaki. “Well, I’ve never had friends or a father before… So, screw it. If you’ll have me, I would love to join the family.” Tamaki was the first to pounce on me, arms looped around my shoulders and cheek pressing into my hair. Honey joined the fun by hopping into my lap and wrapping his arms around my neck, Mori’s hand soon resting on my head in a silent and welcoming gesture. Haruhi and Kyoya watched from the side lines as the twins joined in on the group hug, Haruhi laughing to herself while Kyoya sent me the smallest of smiles.

 

A family. I could get used to this.


	12. The Refreshing Battle in Karuizawa!

**Haruhi’s POV**

 

“Thank you. Have a nice day.” I cleared away the contents of the now vacant table and wiped it with a cloth as the bell above the door chimed. “Hi, good morning!” I smiled to the couple that had just entered, quickly showing them to a clean table.

 

_Who would’ve thought working in a bed and breakfast could be the ideal way to spend my summer?_

 

I breathed a relaxed sigh, taking the tray of dirty dishes and cutlery to the kitchen to be washed before I hung up the clean bed sheets outside to dry. This place was so refreshing, quiet and calm. At first I was a little apprehensive about not telling the guys about my plans for the summer, but it isn't like they really have the free time to keep tabs on me anyway, right?

 

 _This place is so tranquil._ _Fresh air, quiet setting. The perfect highland getaway for a girl to catch up on her studies. It's gonna be great_.

 

My peace and tranquillity was brought to a crashing halt as the wind picked up, the white sheets flying off in all directions thanks to the helicopter that hovered twenty feet above the ground.

 

“Haruhi! Despair not! Daddy's come to save you!”

 

 _And by great, evidently I mean a nightmare_.

 

 

“A job, huh? I don’t get it. You turned down our invitation to Bali for this? Even (Y/N) here said she’d love to go,” Kaoru said, pointing at the girl who had quickly passed out on the table next to him.

 

Honey pouted from across the table, “And we even asked her to go with us to Switzerland, didn’t we?”

 

“We did,” Mori replied.

 

“Yeah, well, I still don’t have a passport, remember? And why is (Y/N) asleep? It’s almost noon.”

 

Kyoya cleared his throat from the table over, “She was probably up all night researching. And don’t forget, I recommended one of our domestic resorts, and at a discount no less.”

 

“Traitors. Asking Haruhi to go on a summer vacation with you behind my back. Have you no feeling of loyalty, of any solidarity? Togetherness is our guiding principle. I work myself to the bone upholding that and this is the thanks I get.” Tamaki collapsed to the ground dramatically, sulking as his hands fisted the grass below.

 

The twins chastised me for having my cell phone turned off, ultimately triggering a reaction from Tamaki who withered at the news of not being in my top five contacts. Though, the tables were soon turned and I found myself feeling despair as the hosts constructed their plan to stay at the pension, turning into a competition for the only vacant room left. I felt a tiny bit of relief when (Y/N) began to stir.

 

“Hmm, where the hell am I?” she moaned, rubbing her eyes with the balls of her hands.

 

I sighed, “Right now? Some form of hell…”

 

 

**Reader’s POV**

 

When I finally woke up again, I found myself sleeping against a different surface to the one I remembered passing out on. _Wasn’t I asleep on my desk?_ I recalled a rapid knocking at my door that woke me up, then I think I was dragged off by two familiar faces, which is why I never bothered to put up an argument. They did invite me to tag along during their trip to Bali; maybe I forgot the date we set off?

 

But upon opening my eyes fully, I immediately knew that I wasn’t in Bali. “Where the hell am I?”

 

“Right now? Some form of hell…”

 

I looked to my right to see Haruhi dressed in a cute apron that accentuated her femininity, mostly because it just made her look more girly. The expression on her face kind of clashed with the pretty outfit, though. She looked absolutely fed up.

 

While the hosts ran around doing god knows what, I asked Haruhi to explain what was happening and where we were. As soon as the word ‘Karuizawa’ left her mouth, I was on her.

 

“Wait, wait, wait. Karuizawa? Where in Karuizawa?”

 

“Uh, Misuzu’s pension – a bed and breakfast.”

 

I stopped caring about whatever else she had to say, demanding that I needed a map and a quiet place to work. “Would it be too much to ask that I sit in your room for a few hours? I won’t touch anything! I just need somewhere quiet to figure stuff out.”

 

“Sure, (Y/N). Are you feeling alright? You’re acting just as strange as everyone else. Except for them, it’s normal.”

 

I nodded my head, “I’m fine, I’ll explain everything eventually. You just worry about the guys.”

 

 

Hours ticked by and eventually I had exactly what I wanted. Two circles were drawn in black marker on the detailed map of Karuizawa, connected by a line that followed main and back roads. _A perfect route to Shirai Shika, the woman working for the Templars by smuggling weapons across the country_.

 

By the sounds of it, we’ll be in Karuizawa for a while longer, so I had plenty of time to see the house for myself and deduce whether she would be home when I do attack.

 

A loud shattering outside pulled me away from the map and, worrying that someone had gotten hurt, I bolted out of the room and downstairs. _It sounded like it came from the back of the building_. Sprinting down the hall until I reached the back door, I paused in the doorway.

 

“Bravo! Bravo! 100 points for refreshing brotherly love! A perfect score! And the victory goes to the Hitachiin brothers!” Misuzu-chi cried from the rooftop.

 

_I missed something important, didn’t I?_

 

Haruhi offered the twins a congratulations, and from their place on the ground, they smirked, “Oh, it was nothing really.”

 

“What the-? Hang on a second. Was all of that staged?”

 

“Well now, who could say?” Kaoru shrugged.

 

I stepped outside with my arms crossed and shook my head at the two, “Seriously? I thought someone had actually gotten hurt.” They only continued to smirk, Hikaru being the first to direct words at me.

 

“Why’s your hair such a mess?”

 

I reached up to feel my tangled and frizzy hair, realizing that I must have run my hands through it too many times while planning my route to Shirai’s home. “Just… stressed out. It’s nothing.”

 

 

“ _Hey, why don’t you stay at our cottage while you’re here? Since there’s no more free rooms and all_.”

 

That was how I ended up spending the night alone in the Hitachiin’s Karuizawa cottage, a cosy place that gave me a lot of peace and quiet to think. However, it was difficult to think about Assassin work when pictures of the Hitachiin family lined so many of the walls. _Jesus, they were even more adorable as kids_.

 

Pictures of the twins, some alone and some with what seemed to be their parents, few even including what looked more like extended family or friends. Most of the older images displayed smiling faces, minus those of the twins, who stood stoic in every picture until ones that looked more recent.

 

 _They really didn’t open up around anyone, not even their family_.

 

I felt guilty sleeping in the twins’ bed that night, but an overwhelming comfort drowned it out and I was lulled to sleep in no time at all.

 

 

My heart dropped slightly after he finished telling me about the hectic morning, “So… you asked Haruhi out on a date…?” Kaoru and I were sat in the otherwise vacant backyard, sharing conversation over a glass of ice tea. His expression dropped and seemed almost panicked.

 

“Oh! Well, yeah. But it’s just a small part of my plan! When I wake up tomorrow, I’ll tell Hikaru that I don’t feel well and ask him to take her for me.” I held back my sigh of relief as best I could. _Thank god… Wait, why am I relieved?_ My internal conflict was put on hold as he handed me a black duffel bag that had been sat beside his chair for a while now. I felt like I recognised it from somewhere. “I hope you don’t mind, but when Hikaru and I picked you up yesterday morning I packed a few things for you…” his voice dissipated into a whisper as he turned his head to the side.

 

Taking the bag from his hands, I placed it on the ground and unzipped it, seeing a very important item that I didn’t realize I’d forgotten until now. “I’m not really sure what it is, but I figured it was important and packed it in with a bunch of clothes-“ My arms were around him in an instant, now out of my seat and leaning over so my chin rested on his shoulder.

 

“Thank you so much, Kaoru. You have no idea how much trouble you’ve saved me from.”

 

 _How could I forget about my arm bracer? Without my hidden blade, I would be screwed_. Realizing that I was still clinging to the slowly stiffening redhead, I pulled away with a bashful laugh. Feeling a little embarrassed, I avoided eye contact by pulling the ever important item from the bag, making sure to keep an eye out for anyone who might see as I strapped it to my arm.

 

I clenched my fist for a moment before flicking my wrist outward and watching as the blade descended from its sheath. “Whoa…” Kaoru gasped. “I- I didn’t know that was in there.” I couldn’t tell if his stuttering words were because of the embrace or the intimidating blade.

 

“Well, it’s called a hidden blade for a reason,” I joked.

 

“(Y/N)?” I finally brought my eyes up to meet his unsure ones, “You said that I saved you from trouble… What did you mean?” Unsure of how to respond, I just stared at the bracer on my arm. “You’re going after someone, aren’t you?”

 

I nodded this time, “Please, don’t tell anyone just yet. I don’t need this weighing on their minds… Especially Hikaru and Haruhi, they’ve got a date tomorrow, after all.” The atmosphere felt much more relaxed now that we were giggling like children, the fact that I was obviously intending to kill someone momentarily put aside.

 

 _You make it so easy, Kaoru. You make it easy to feel like myself – no masks, no fake smiles. It’s all me_.


	13. Operation Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date!

**Reader’s POV**

 

Upon entering the pension at around nine in the morning, the only person I saw was Hikaru walking towards the front doors. “Hey, Hikaru. Where’re you heading?”

 

“Huh?” He looked nervous and rigid, “Just… hanging out with Haruhi in town for the day.” The boy scratched the back of his head before relaxing, looking me in the eye, “Kaoru’s not feeling well today, think you’d be able to keep an eye on him for me?”

 

Hikaru must really trust me if he’s asking me to take care of his beloved brother, “Yeah, of course. I’ve got your number in case I need to call you.”

 

The conversation ended there, Hikaru leaving through the front door and within mere minutes, Kaoru was jogging down the stairs. I laughed at his panting form and waited for him to notice me standing there. When he did, he smiled widely.

 

“Hey! The club and I are gonna be keeping an eye on Haruhi and Hikaru, wanna come with?” I lifted the black duffel bag off my shoulder and dropped it on the ground, the sight of the familiar bag causing the lightbulb to go off in his mind.

 

“I’m gonna be watching Shirai Shika’s house for most of the day. I walked past it yesterday to give it a quick once-over, but I need to do this today.”

 

He smiled weakly, nodding his head, “It’s okay. Come back here when you’re done, alright? I wanna know that you’re okay.” I grinned at his concern. Nodding my head, I promised that I’d return to the pension after finished with Shirai.

 

 

**Kaoru’ POV**

 

The date went from lacklustre to happy and cheerful in a matter of minutes, leading me to believe that Hikaru was fine on his own, so I dragged the club back with me to the pension. I hadn’t heard anything from (Y/N) and it was starting to make me worry, that worry tripling when the storm started and all three missing friends were still not home. I wanted to call (Y/N) and ask if she was hurt, or even just to hear her voice and know that she was alive.

 

“Tamaki, dear, please try to settle down.”

 

“I should go and look for them.”

 

The shrill noise of the old-fashioned phone echoed throughout the room, Misuzu-chi answering and greeting the other person on the line, “Hello, this is Pension Misuzu! Oh, it's you Arai. What is it? What? Haruhi and Hikaru? Hm. Hm. Thank you. Hikaru should have his cell with him so I'll try giving him a call. Goodbye now.” Hanging up the phone, he turned to the rest of us, “Evidently, Hikaru left Haruhi in front of the produce shop and decided he'd head back on his own. Arai said Haruhi took off after Hikaru and that's when it started pouring. He was worried so he called to make sure they made it home okay.”

 

Tamaki didn’t hesitate to pull out his cell phone, face blank aside from the solemn look in his eyes. He waited a moment before saying anything, “You idiot! I want you to turn around and start looking for Haruhi right now! What kind of jerk would leave a girl out in a thunderstorm like this by herself?! Now you listen to me, Haruhi is terrified of thunder! Whenever she hears it, she gets so scared she can't even move! Why don't you spend less time concentrating on your jealousy and worry about someone else for once?!” My eyes widen. _So, she really is scared of something_ …

 

I assumed that Hikaru had fled in search of Haruhi when Tamaki lowered the phone, eyes closed and fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “Boss?” I whispered, “I’m sure he’ll find her…”

 

In the revelation of Haruhi’s biggest fear, I’d forgotten about my concern for (Y/N), reminded of it thirty minutes later when she came sneaking through the back door and into the main dining area. Her face was covered by a black hood and her entire frame was soaking wet.

 

“(Y/N)! Thank god, I was starting to worry, what with the storm and all-“ I noticed that her left hand was hidden from sight, buried in one of the hoodies pockets while the other swung freely by her side. “Are you okay? Let me see your hand.”

 

Thankfully, Misuzu had retired for the night and wasn’t around to see the now visible -and incredibly bloody- hand. She sent me a stern glare as I pulled on her arm, insisting that we see where she’d been hurt. “It isn’t mine, Kaoru,” she whispered, but not so low as to be unheard by the rest of the club. It was then that I noticed the bloody hand rested right below the arm bracer she’d shown me yesterday. _A hidden blade_ … “Remember, I said I didn’t need all of you worrying about this. So… just let me get cleaned up and we can forget that this happened.”

 

 

“Okay! I can’t pretend that I didn’t see it, and I know everyone else feels the same.”

 

(Y/N) sighed, shaking her head in exasperation at my statement. The storm had settled now and all that remained was the light tapping of rain against the windows, this giving Hikaru and Haruhi the perfect opportunity to catch a ride home without any thunder freaking the poor girl out. We were all gathered downstairs in the dining room, half of the group sipping on hot chocolate to warm themselves up while the others sat in silence – I was in the latter group.

 

“What exactly happened while we were gone?” Haruhi mumbled, still sounding a little shaken by the weather.

 

“(Y/N) went out today to…” I trailed off, not really knowing how to say it.

 

Said girl grunted, sitting up straight and looking at each of the hosts, “I went out to kill someone. Is that what you want to hear?” Tamaki, Haruhi, Hikaru and Honey looked the most shocked out of everyone. Kyoya seemed indifferent to the situation and Mori just watched (Y/N) with his usual stoic expression. “Shirai Shika, a woman who was smuggling unregistered weapons for someone. I still don’t know who, but I’m sure I’ll find out eventually. The reason I’ve been so brash tonight is because I didn’t get any info from her and I’m running out of leads. You guys know what I do outside of school, you know that I’m an Assassin, but I understand that knowing I’ve just killed someone can be a little nerve wracking.”

 

“Don’t forget,” Kyoya spoke up, “She’s not a psychopath that does this for fun, she has her reasons and they benefit a large number of people.” I couldn’t help but feel jealous of this, the way Kyoya defended her like he knew her better than me. _But why feel jealous? Am I really that into her?_

 

“He’s right. By preventing the illegal export of any more weapons under her command, a lot of innocent lives could have been saved.”

 

My heart clenched at her downtrodden expression; she was clearly worried that we thought less of her now. “I still trust you, (Y/N),” I spoke, resting a hand over one that wasn’t holding onto a teacup. I thought back to a few weeks ago, when she did the same to comfort me, how warm and soft her hand was despite how tough they really were. _She can climb really well, you’d think that her hands should be rough and calloused_.

 

“We trust you too! Right, Takashi?” He replied with a defined hum.

 

“They’re right. We welcomed you into our little family, knowing that you were exceptionally skilled in such ways. We may not be able to comprehend such actions in the same way, but that does not make you a bad person. We love you and thank you for protecting our home,” Tamaki had raised from his seat and not a single trace of exaggeration could be heard in his voice. He was expressing the genuine love that each host felt for her, but I couldn’t help but feel like my care wasn’t being expressed as much as I needed it to be.

 

A light squeeze was felt against my hand, looking down to see it was hers, now turned over and wrapped around my own.

 

“Thank you, guys. Really…”


	14. A History Lesson to Remember!

**Reader’s POV**

 

“Thanks again, (Y/N). I really need to pass this class and this report has got me stumped,” Kaoru chuckled as he sat on the sofa in my small living room. That feeling in my stomach returned, like I was nervous, but what was I nervous about? All he did was laugh, it wasn’t something that should draw a reaction from me.

 

Shaking off the feeling and my racing thoughts, I took the seat beside him, placing two cups of tea on the table. “It’s no problem, really. You know…” I tried to hide the grin that was desperate to take its place on my lips, “One of my ancestors prevented the assassination of George Washington during the American Revolution.”

 

“Whoa! Really?” He seemed genuinely surprised, “Who was trying to kill him?”

 

“This… group of people who were obsessed with power. In fact, they still exist, just like the Assassins,” I whispered, not knowing whether or not to tell him such information.

 

But now he was interested, and the genuine look in his eyes made my heart skip a beat, “How do you know this kind of stuff?”

 

I bit my lip as I thought for a moment, “Kaoru, if I tell you any of this, you can’t breathe a word of it to anyone, okay?” His confused expression made me press further, “Everything I know could be the difference between life and death for a lot of people.”

 

“Jeez, that sounds really ominous,” he nervously joked, “Yeah, you can trust me. Cross my heart and hope to die!” Demonstrating his words and drawing a small cross over his heart, I smiled.

 

“Well, like I already told you, I come from a long line of Assassins, but it wasn’t just my family. They were all over the world, the Brotherhood. Unfortunately, so were the Templars, people who were obsessed with control and power. We’ve been at war with the Templars for millennia, as far back as 1191 when my ancestor Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad mentored future members in the Levantine Brotherhood. He was a Master Assassin, but after failing one of his missions, he was demoted and had to redeem himself.” Quickly jumping out of my seat, I ran to my desk and unlocked the bottom drawer with a key kept in my pocket, taking out various files before returning to Kaoru, “In order to do that, he was tasked with killing all of these members of the Templar Order. By the time he’d regained his rank he realised that his mentor, Al Mualim, had betrayed the Brotherhood and had to kill him.”

 

“And that’s him? Altaïr?” His pronunciation was slightly off as he pointed to the picture in the now open file on my earliest recorded ancestor. Rebecca printed off a bunch of files from the Animus database for me back when I was training, I thanked her for about a week before finally leaving her in peace.

 

“Yeah, sometime later he became involved with a woman named Maria and had a child. It’s funny actually, the first time they met they were trying to kill each other.”

 

“True love, maybe?” We both laughed at his comment. Once we’d calmed down, he picked up the second file, “And this one… Ez-io Aud…?”

 

I couldn’t resist giggling at his struggle to read the name, “Ezio Auditore da Firenze. He grew up in Florence and became an Assassin in 1476 after witnessing the execution of his father and brothers. He spent so much of his time after that liberating Italy from the Templars and finding these codex pages written by Altaïr that would lead him to a tomb… his final resting place. But personally, my favourite part about this is that he was practically best friends with Leonardo Da Vinci!” While shuffling through the papers, dopey grin on my face, I didn’t notice Kaoru watching me so intently. “Then in 1721, Edward Kenway was a pirate from Britain that desired fame and gold, and he sort of found it by becoming a privateer for the Royal Navy but sometime later, he struggled with his dreams of being rich versus being a helpful friend. Eventually, he decided that the Assassin Order needed him and that was how he would protect those he cared about. I can’t say the same for his son though – Haytham Kenway, the first ever Grand Master of the Templar Order’s Colonial Rite in 1754.”

 

“Wait a sec, you’re saying you’re also related to a Templar?” When I finally turned to face him, Kaoru looked surprised once again.

 

Nodding my head, I showed him a picture of Haytham, “Unfortunately so. He was killed in 1781 by his own son, Ratonhnhaké:ton.” I couldn’t quite tell which part of that sentence confused him more, the murder or the name. “He adopted the name Connor Kenway to sound more Western, they weren’t a big fan of colonies and tribes back then. He wanted to fix things with his father, but neither one was willing to make the changes that would do so. But on a lighter note, he was involved in the Boston Tea Party, defending George Washington from being killed and attended the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” my proud tone brought a bright grin to his face, but I could see the lingering question in his eyes. Apparently, he knew I’d seen it too.

 

“All of this, it’s amazing. But how do you find information like this? It’s gotta be impossible to know things that weren’t documented all the way back in the eleven-hundreds.”

 

Watching him for a few seconds, I took a deep breath. “Again, Kaoru, this cannot be spoken about to anyone,” he nodded. “There’s this company called Abstergo Industries, they’re Templars. They built these machines that could access your memories – your _ancestors’_ memories, because they’re all up here,” I pointed to my head, “They’re passed down and locked away in our minds, but these machines, the Animus… It can show you those memories.”

 

The expression he held looked like a mix of confusion, amazement and fear. “The Animus puts you into those memories and you live them like they’re your own. I’ve travelled around the Holy Lands during the Third Crusade as Altaïr, all over Italy as Ezio, sailed the Caribbean Sea as Edward. Hell, I’ve seen memories that weren’t even a part of my family tree; DNA samples of Assassins like Jacob and Evie Frye gave me the opportunity to see the Brotherhood during 1868!” I calmed myself down as I realised I was getting side-tracked, “But, my point is, Abstergo were and still are using these memories to find objects with immense power, something no person should ever possess… They’re called Pieces of Eden.”

 

“Eden? As in-“

 

“Yes, the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve. The most known piece is the Apple, something that I’ve seen on many occasions while in the Animus. Even my own father was in possession of it once. But Abstergo would do nearly anything to find one of these pieces – they kidnapped my dad years ago just so they could use his memories. I’ve even been told that they were planning to kill him once they’d gotten what they wanted, but he escaped, only to die later the same year as a sacrifice to save the world.”

 

Silence lingered after that, I wasn’t sure for how long, but it felt like hours. Realising that the tea had long since gotten cold, I picked up both cups and made my way to the kitchen, “God, I’m so sorry. I got carried away and completely forgot that I’m supposed to be helping you with your report!” As hopeful as I was that my laugh didn’t display how nervous I felt, I knew that it did. I heard footsteps behind me before feeling a hand on my arm, slowly easing me around to face the ginger-haired boy.

 

“Don’t worry about it.” I felt myself heating up at his small smile and the bashful glint in his eyes, but it was nothing compared to the shock I felt when his lips connected with mine. Confusion, fear, all sorts of negative emotions flooded my body, but my mind was screaming at me due to how right this felt. Since training to become and Assassin at such a young age, I’d never even considered love and romance to be something I wanted. But now I understood all of those nervous and strange feelings I’d felt when around him. I’d unknowingly started to fall for him.

 

Pulling away, there was an obvious dusting of pink across his cheeks. “You, uh… You look really cute when you talk about something you’re passionate about.”

 

 

“Seriously, are you one-hundred-percent sure that you’re okay with this? You’ve seen me kill a man before! Are you positive that you want to be involved with an Assassin?”

 

“It feels like you’re trying to talk me out of liking you,” the words seemed cold, but his teasing tone and cheeky grin proved otherwise.

 

Groaning, I fell back into the cushions of the sofa. We’d long since finished gathering enough notes for Kaoru’s paper about the American Revolution, minus the Assassins and Templars and sticking as close to public knowledge as possible. Now, we were just discussing what had happened earlier in the afternoon.

 

“Kaoru, this could be very dangerous for you, even people close to you. I don’t want you or your family to get hurt because of me.” I turned my body to face him, leaning against the back of the sofa on my side.

 

Reaching over, he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and leaned closer, laying a sweet kiss against my lips. “You don’t have to worry about me. Hikaru and I are tougher than you’re giving us credit for!” He sat up tall and crossed his arms, trying to look intimidating.

 

I sighed but smiled nonetheless, “Okay,” I breathed. “Since you’re so sure. But for now, you should probably head home before Hikaru thinks I killed you.”


	15. Operation (Y/N) and Kaoru's First Date!

**Reader’s POV**

 

I read over the stack of papers, taking in the details and explanations, but mainly focusing on the red pen lines that formed ticks throughout the report. I smiled brightly at the final grade on the front page, “B+? I’m so proud of you!”

 

Kaoru giggled bashfully, wrapping his arms around my frame as my arms went around his neck. “It’s all thanks to you, I would have failed if you didn’t help me.” It still felt strange to act so intimate with him like this, but I wanted to be able to do it without turning into a complete mess.

 

“Regardless, you took everything I told you and got yourself a B+!” Pulling away, I smiled at his blushing face. The Host Club was empty for now, most of the members still in class or studying for assignments that hadn’t been completed during the summer. “Are you planning on celebrating? This was a pretty big win,” I poked, finding it impossible to wipe the smile off my face and loving every second that he smiled back.

 

“Not really,” he laughed, “It’s just a history essay. I didn’t exactly win a Nobel Prize.”

 

I watched him, thoughts draining away slowly and thinking only about how stupid I was for not realizing how much I liked him before a few weeks ago, after our first kiss. “What if…” I began, “We went on our first date?”

 

His eyes lit up, “Yeah! Where do you wanna go?”

 

“It’s your celebration, you pick.”

 

 

“Are you sure you’re okay with coming here? We could go somewhere more fun if you want.”

 

I playfully glared at the boy sitting across the table from me, “Kaoru, no, this is perfect. I’ve never really gone to a proper Italian restaurant before and I think it’d be nice to try some traditional dishes.”

 

Since Kaoru greatly favoured Italian foods, his date location of choice was a fancy Italian restaurant on the outskirts of town that required me to dress a little nicer than usual. Even Kaoru was wearing a white button-down shirt with dark slacks. “Alright then, I recommend the Fettuccine Alfredo, the one they serve here was my favourite as a kid.”

 

 _You’re freakin’ adorable_. “Alright then, Fettuccine Alfredo for me with a glass of sparkling water.”

 

 

“You can’t be serious. A frog!?”

 

Kaoru snickered, “Yeah, we were real trouble makers. We hated that our own family members couldn’t tell us apart, so we compared our aunt to a frog and it jumped right on her face.”

 

“And your mom used to put you in dresses? Why?”

 

“She’s a fashion designer. Why do fashion designers make half of the things they do?” Dinner had been finished for a while, but listening to Kaoru open up more about his childhood and share memories, it was so exciting. “I’m sure she’d love you, you know?”

 

As much as I wanted to ask ‘When do you think I’ll get to meet her?’, I refrained from doing so; we hadn’t told the Host Club yet for multiple reasons, one being that Kaoru is still a host and news of a relationship would surely cause havoc among the female crowd, and secondly, he isn’t sure if Hikaru would be able to handle it just yet. They were still coming out of their bubble, Kaoru being the only one to recognise that their co-dependence can’t last forever.

 

“You think?”

 

“Of course! You’re so pretty, she’ll be trying to dress you up in no time,” his teasing tone wouldn’t have made me blush so much if there wasn’t a hint of genuine emotion behind it.

 

I turned my head toward the table, smiling stupidly as I tried to rid myself of the offending blush. “So, what other shenanigans did you and the club get up to before I was around?”

 

He giggled at my attempt to change the subject, “Well, there was the time that Hikaru and I faked a fight so we’d get invited to Haruhi’s home.” I snorted, trying my best to hide the ugly noise while still falling over myself at the idea. _Of course they’d never be able to have a real fight, it just had to be staged_.

 

The stories continued to flow from the handsome boy, my eyes never leaving his face, thinking about how bright his eyes were to the perfect shape of his jaw. I’ve never wanted to know a person so deeply. It was almost scary how much my heart raced when I thought about him.

 

_Is this what people call love? Am I crazy for hoping that it is?_


	16. Lobelia Girls' Academy Strikes Back!

**Reader’s POV**

 

“Haruhi-chan. Please come out and play!” Tamaki, Honey and the twins sang together after I pressed the doorbell. Tamaki stood with a box in his hands and a wide grin that matched the ones worn by the other three beside him.

 

I was dragged along with the club to visit Haruhi at her home, what they called a ‘commoners dwelling’ was simply a cosy apartment block to me. Also, I say dragged, but it was actually Kaoru who asked me to come, sending me a quick text and telling everyone else ‘She’s practically a part of the club, right? She should come too!’. Needless to say, Tamaki agreed with enthusiasm. If only they knew.

 

Busy with my own thoughts, I didn’t notice a man with long red hair open the door before us until I was being spirited away with the Host Club around me. “Sorry, we have the wrong apartment!” the blonde boy called back quickly.

 

“Hey, hey, wait a second!” The man from before lightly jogged after us, herding us together and back towards the apartment until we were inside the doorway. He took a seat on the floor in front of us all, “Don’t act so traumatized cause you’ve seen me without my make up on. Even trannies get stubble first thing in the morning, which is more than I can say for any of you.”

 

Understandably, he we referring to all the men of the group and hadn’t noticed I was present, likely due to me hiding behind the twins and trying to fathom the situation.

 

“You’re so funny!” Tamaki laughed. “My dear Ranka, I hope this day finds you in excellent health.” I don’t think anyone was really expecting the sudden uppercut dealt to Tamaki’s jaw before he was pinned under the older man’s foot. Ranka held up the little white box of treats, laughing merrily. “Ranka, please… That’s my head…”

 

Ignoring the boy, Ranka smiled at the rest of the group and spoke in a lighter tone, “Oh, silly me! I forgot my manners. Please forgive my appearance. It’s so wonderful to see all of you, and I don’t believe I’ve met this lovely girl before!”

 

“Hi, I’m (Y/N), another one of Haruhi’s friends.” He saw me while I was peeking out from between the twins, so I took the opportunity to introduce myself with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Ranka.”

 

“Likewise!”

 

“Is Haru-chan here?” Honey piped up, eyes flittering around the room.

 

Ranka shook his head as he looked into the box, “I'm afraid not. She's out with the girls today. They picked her up this morning and you know women, heaven only knows when they'll be back.” I felt the twins snicker from beside me and I elbowed them both in the sides.

 

“So, she’s not home?”

 

“Well, I guess Haruhi is entitled to spend time with her old friends from middle school once in a while,” Tamaki mumbled, face red from being pinned to the floor so hard.

 

The group began to walk away, leaving the man to munch on his sweet treats alone, but his voice could still be heard, “You know, come to think of it, I'm not sure that I recognized any of her new friends. But then again, you never can tell, can you? Haruhi always has made friends easily. Just imagine it, my little girl out and about with students from Lobelia Academy.”

 

Tamaki placed a shaking hand on Ranka’s shoulder, “Did you say…”

 

“Lo-“

 

“be-

 

“li-“

 

“aah!?”

 

As the three boys screamed and withered, I groaned at the mention of the all-girls school. Ranka dragged us inside and began to act an awful lot like Tamaki, reacting to everything as if it were the end of the world.

 

While he glared at Tamaki for the twins near-slip-up about a previous event where Haruhi had her first kiss, I found myself losing focus and closing my eyes, willing the sudden headache to go away. When I opened them, the world was dark, but there were figures moving around in front of me. A few horses that emanated a white light and just past them, a human figure shining blue. _Shit_. Rebecca told me about this, the so-called Bleeding Effect. It shouldn’t last long, but it was a clear sign of the Animus’ use taking a toll on me. I should be seeing memories from my ancestors every now and then through Eagle Vision, and right now, I was seeing Ezio.

 

Shaun once told me that it happened to my dad, that he once saw memories out of nowhere that the Animus hadn’t shown him and had no relevance to their location at the time. I just had to wait it out. Maybe go home and lay down.

 

A hand on my shoulder was what finally brought me back to present time, “(Y/N), are you okay? You were staring off into space.”

 

“Um, yeah.” I closed my eyes and shook my head, recovering from the headache at last. “Yeah, I’m fine, Kaoru. I don’t think I’ll be able to stick with you guys today, though.”

 

“Hey, don’t worry about it. If you’re not feeling well then everyone will understand.”

 

He offered me a hand and pulled me up from my place on the floor, insisting that he call a car to take me home. While the club and Ranka came up with their plan to infiltrate Lobelia Academy, Kaoru stood with me outside to wait for the car. “I’ll tell you about it later, but this isn’t just me feeling ill. It’s something to do with my ancestor’s memories.”

 

“Why don’t I call you later? You can tell me what’s wrong and I’ll update you on what trouble we cause at Lobelia,” he laughs, placing a hand on the small of my back when the car arrives. I look at Haruhi’s front door and, upon seeing no one there, press a kiss to Kaoru’s cheek.

 

 

“So, what was it you saw?”

 

“A horse stable and Ezio, right before he ran off.”

 

Rebecca hummed, “And you’re sure that it looked like your Eagle Vision?”

 

“Positive. It happened again when I got home, this time it was Edward. I even tried to follow him, but by the looks of it, it was just a memory of him standing on the Jackdaw. I couldn’t get much closer because my living room wall was in the way.”

 

Her snorting laughter brought a tired grin to my lips. I was splayed out over my sofa with a damp cloth covering my forehead, even though it had already cooled down, the last headache caused by the Bleeding Effect left me feeling wiped out and I couldn’t be bothered removing it. “Well, by the sounds of it, it’s nothing that’ll kill you.”

 

“Oh, yay.”

 

“I’d say just sleep it off and it should be over with tomorrow.”

 

I hoped that she was right, being forced into seeing the world through Eagle Vision was strenuous when not prepared or controlling of it. After saying goodbye to Becca, I took a short nap to help me regain some energy. In about a week I’ll be paying a visit to Yahiro Kichibei, so I needed to have a clear head while planning the attack as well as during the attack itself.

 

I didn’t even notice that I’d fallen asleep until the buzzing of my phone woke me up, Kaoru’s name and face appearing on the screen. “Hmm, hello.”

 

“Sorry,” he chuckled, “Did I wake you up?”

 

“Yeah, but I want to talk to you, so I’ll forgive you.” My teasing tone didn’t last long as I began to explain what had happened earlier in the day, how I saw Ezio and Edward’s memories outside of the Animus even though they had no real relevance. He expressed how worried he was, even after I assured him that I was fine. _He really is a big softie_.

 

He told me about the mess at Lobelia Academy and Haruhi’s almost-second kiss. Apparently the whole performance was used so Benibara could get revenge on Tamaki, for what, I wasn’t sure. She probably saw it as Tamaki using his ‘weak male charm’ or something else completely ridiculous.

 

“I think I agree with what Renge said the last time we saw those girls, I don’t know what I’d do without boys. More specifically - you.”

 

“You’re making me blush,” the mischievous boy laughed.

 

 _God… I think I’m falling in love with you_ …


	17. Until the Day it Becomes a Pumpkin!

**Reader’s POV**

 

“Alright, next item on the agenda,” Class 1-A’s male representative, Kazukiyo, spoke up from the front, “I move to discuss what the class plans will be for next week.” From my left, I heard Haruhi mumble out ‘Next week?’, seemingly just as confused as myself. _What’s so important about next week?_

 

“Yeah! Halloween,” Hikaru cheered, leaning against the brunette’s left shoulder.

 

The class’ female rep, Momoka, turned around to address the question too, “Haruhi, you’ve only been a student at Ouran Academy since high school, right? And (Y/N), you’ve only been here a few months! So, you don’t know. After we finish taking our exams for the Fall, we’re allowed a few days off. Until the end of October! And we get to throw costume parties on campus to celebrate!”

 

“And also, to promote comradery, each class is allowed to use and entire day for a special class event of their choosing,” Kazukiyo added.

 

Haruhi still seemed puzzled. _Can’t really say that I blame her_. “Event?”

 

“Right, they’re pretty fun, actually,” Kaoru spoke, getting up from his seat to lean down to Haruhi’s right side. Hikaru nodded his head, stealing the smaller girl’s attention once again, both too distracted to notice Kaoru offer me a small smile.

 

“We socialise, or watch some old movies. Stuff like that.”

 

A booming voice filled the room, screaming ‘Boring, boring, boring!’, and before she was even seen, I knew it was Renge. “Halloween! The day that sounds the death knell of summer and ushers in the icy breath of winter! Halloween! Once a day when ghouls walk the earth, and disguised as ghouls, we try to ward them all off. Halloween! A day for wearing costumes! And playing pranks on trick or treaters with a reckless abandon!” She moved from pose to pose, ending with an arm extended behind her and she leaned down, the other hand somewhat framing her chin.

 

“Some people don’t wait for Halloween to dress up-“

 

“Some people cosplay year-round.” The twins weren’t wrong, from what I’d seen of Renge, she was a fan of recreating video games, anime and manga through cosplay – no matter the occasion.

 

Haruhi nodded, “I know that’s right.” I hummed in agreement. “So, what’s with the uniform?”

 

The eccentric blonde giggled, shifting on top of the table. “Just between us, this is the female uniform in Uki Doki Memorial 2, which isn’t scheduled for release until next spring!” She splayed her arms outward, showing off the white blouse and pink skirt. “What do you think?” Before anyone could answer, she shifted back into her previous pose, “I know important people on the inside, if you catch my drift.”

 

It was near-impossible for me to miss the sideways glance from the twins, both of them earning a mild glare from me. _Not the kind of secrets I deal with, guys_. “Miss. Hoshakuji, we’re having homeroom now. Could you get down off the desk, please?” Kazukiyo asked, sounding like he was already sick of the girl’s antics, but she wasn’t done just yet.

 

“Tea parties and cosplay? The Host Club does that practically non-stop! What our Halloween requires is something special!” I didn’t even bother to ask how her voice echoed in the small room.

 

Kazukiyo waved his hand before him, trying to calm her down. “Um, we’re supposed to decide this as a class…”

 

“So, I propose holding a Halloween Test of Courage tournament! The bravest student wins!” Everyone watched as she pointed towards the ceiling drastically, still stood atop the desks.

 

Students murmured around the room as the twins struck one of their regular poses, Hikaru holding his chin and Kaoru leaning against his brother’s shoulder. “A test of courage-“

 

“Tournament, you say?”

 

“Here’s what we’ll do! We’ll ask the superintendent to give us access to the school after hours, when it’s dark. Then, we’ll all dress up in our freakiest costumes and proceed to have the time of our lives scaring the absolute crap out of each other!” As Kazukiyo seemed to shrink, the twins sniggered.

 

“Yeah, we’re in,” they spoke simultaneously, their smiles turning into malicious grins.

 

“I really like the part about-“

 

“It being dark.”

 

Everyone surrounding us seemed to be all for the idea, expressing their excitement to scare others and maybe even get scared themselves. That is, everyone but Kazukiyo.

 

“Well now, why don’t we think this through, everyone? We can’t all go individually… We should be in teams of at least three or four…”

 

Momoka slid up next to him, bright smile on her face, “Yeah! Teams would be scarier!”

 

A part of me wondered if I was the only one that saw how scared the boy was. He was clearly shaking, but no one commented on it. Looking over to the twins, I had little doubt that they’d notice; but of all people, they weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to scare a scaredy-cat.

 

“And anybody who leaves-“ Hikaru started.

 

“Gets featured on the front page of the school newspaper as the ‘Captain of All Cowards’,” Kaoru concluded.

 

The whole class, besides Haruhi, cheered out a simultaneous ‘Seconded!’, even myself. A mischievous part of me wanted to enjoy this. _I’ve been around the twins for too long_ …

 

The class rep gulped, standing straight and pushing his glasses further up his nose. “Alright then, are there any objections to the majority vote?” His eyes locked onto Haruhi’s sitting form, “Are there any at all?” Silence. “Is anybody opposed to the idea? Come on, anyone?” More silence. “Oh, very well, the motion passes unanimously. The Class 1-A event for this year will be a special Halloween Test of Courage tournament,” the boy seemed to deflate as he finished speaking. The class clapped in celebration, sharing smiles with the people around them.

 

 

Haruhi, the twins and myself made our way towards the club room, the two boys happily taking each stride with a spring in their step. Unsurprisingly, Haruhi had been sandwiched between the twins not long after leaving the classroom, both of them chatting away about how excited they were for the next week. Unknowingly to both Hikaru and Haruhi, Kaoru spent a good amount of the walk brushing his fingertips against mine in an attempt to gain my attention. Whenever he did, I would look over to see a soft smile on his face.

 

Arriving at the club room revealed more Halloween themes. The entire room was decorated with dark cloths, upside down crosses, pumpkin scarecrows and plastic spiders and bats hanging from black strings. A few candles were scattered around the room, illuminating the four figures dressed as vampires and two ladies sat at a table.

 

“Hello!” the twins announced, leaning in front of Kyoya, Honey and Mori.

 

From behind them, Tamaki spoke up, still holding the blushing girl he was currently hosting. “Why are you guys late? Hurry up and change.”

 

“Sorry boss, but from now until Halloween-“

 

“Count us out.”

 

“Okay?” the twins spoke separately, then together. To emphasis who ‘us’ referred to, Kaoru pulled me in closer, setting me in front of him and beside a slouching Haruhi.

 

Tamaki loudly gasped out a loud ‘What?!’ before Honey stole the attention away, “Count you out?”

 

“We’re on the preparation committee for a special event. Class 1-A is sponsoring it,” the boys smiled cheerily.

 

“Duty calls, then,” Kyoya muttered, seeming disinterested.

 

The twins began waving, their free hands placed upon mine and Haruhi’s shoulders as we were led back towards the door. “Good luck without us here for a week!”

 

“You have fun!” Honey, sweet as ever, replied.

 

“Hold on!” Tamaki yelled, “Why is Haruhi going?” Of course, why wouldn’t he be wondering where his precious ‘daughter’ was going, especially with the ‘shady’ twins.

 

The ginger twins turned back to the Host Clubs king, Hikaru being the one to start breaking the news with a menacing grin. “Oh, boss. She is in our class, you know.”

 

“Oh, the special event is an after dark test of courage tournament.”

 

The blonde male gasped once again, “After… dark?” He wobbled from side to side, his eyes glazing over for a second. “Haruhi… You’re not going to take part in this, are you? For decency’s sake, tell me you won’t!”

 

“Calm down, senpai. It’s just some harmless fun,” her casual smile and tone of voice sent the boy into a state.

 

“Harmless… She thinks it’s harmless. Why me?” He flailed for a moment before grabbing onto her shoulders, surprising Hikaru, who had been closest to her. “You won’t go! You can’t… Daddy doesn’t like it!” I noticed the strange expression on Kaoru’s face, but before I had a chance to ask if he was okay, I had an erratic Tamaki latching onto me, “(Y/N)! You’re strong and deadly! You’ll protect her won’t you!”

 

I shook my head, releasing a breath with a soft grin on my lips. “Since there’s going to be nothing to protect her from, I may be a little over qualified.”

 

“Okay, time to go now!” And with that, Kaoru was out of his daze and leading both Haruhi and I out the door, his brother at his side mirroring his waving stance.

 

“Boss, adieu!”

 

 

The next day, we were back in Class 1-A and starting to hash out the plans for the Test of Courage tournament. Hikaru suggested that we follow ‘the commoner’s rule’ by keeping costumes under 300 yen, Kaoru backing him up by saying that it would keep things interesting. Renge, for once, suggested something very useful and considerate – a stand-by doctor, though her reasons were a bit outlandish, such as heart attacks and jumping out of windows. I felt myself smiling as Kaoru asked if food would be present, but suppressed it when Haruhi excused herself to talk to a frantic-looking Kazukiyo outside.

 

I brushed a hand casually over Kaoru’s arm as I stepped past him, a small gesture to catch his attention, letting him know that something interesting was happening. The two outside weren’t that far away, so while leaning next to the door frame, I closed my eyes and focused, listening to the conversation with impeccably focused hearing.

 

“ _You have nyctophobia? So, you’re afraid of the dark?_ ”

 

“ _Yes,_ _and you can add to that: horror-movie-phobia, scary-ghost-story-phobia, being-startled-by-a-loud-noise-in-the-other-room phobia, and accidentally-seeing-trailers-for-horror-movies phobia._ _And what's with those things? Why do they keep showing them without warning us about it first? It just doesn't make sense to me. Whatever happened to civil rights for the fraidy-cats out there? Cowards are people, too. And what about the other classes? With their tea parties? IT’S JUST SO UNFAIR!_ ”

 

“ _Class rep, calm down._ ”

 

“ _Oh my, I’m sorry._ ”

 

“ _If you were opposed to the idea from the start, why didn’t you just bring it up in the meeting?_ ”

 

“ _I tried to, but I don’t wanna look like I’m throwing my weight around there. So, I was counting on your help TO SAVE ME!_ ”

 

“ _Please calm down._ ”

 

“ _I’m sorry._ ”

 

“ _How exactly was I supposed to save you?_ ”

 

“ _I was desperately giving you signs to oppose the motion while it was up for vote, but you just didn’t seem interested! If just one person objects, then it goes up for discussion._ ”

 

“ _Uh… Sorry. I had no idea._ ”

 

“ _Please Fujioka, you have to let me be on your team! If I’m with you, then maybe your piece of mind will help me AND I CAN REMAIN MORE CALM!_ ”

 

“ _Class rep!_ ”

 

“What’s going on, (Y/N)?” the twins whispered beside me, both leaning down to keep the conversation closed off to others.

 

I sighed, relaxing myself and dropping my focus on the conversation, “Kazukiyo’s a giant wimp.” Opening my eyes, the space beside me was empty and I could hear feet tip-toeing out of the room.

 

“ _You can’t tell the Hitachiin Brothers…_ ” _Whoops_.

 

“ _Huh? Is someone a fraidy-cat?_ ”

 

I crept out of the room and closed the door, watching the seconds tick by before Kazukiyo screamed in terror, clawing at the wall in an attempt to escape the devilish twins. As he screamed, I heard feet approaching the door from the other side and made my way towards the four across the hall.

 

“Oh, there you are. We’re about to choose groups. So, do you have any idea who you’d like to have on your team?” Momoka appeared through the now open door, smiling brightly as usual and unaware of the previous conversation between Haruhi and the other class rep.

 

Hikaru and Kaoru grabbed Kazukiyo by the arms, placing him between them and holding him still. “Yeah! The five of us will be one!” Kaoru sent me a cheeky wink, a small sign that told me I had no choice in the matter. Not that I would have objected.

 

“Great! Then you guys are Team B, alright?”

 

“Sounds like fun. Right, class rep?”

 

“This is a nightmare!”

 

 

The week had finally come to a near-end. The twins explained their plan to me during the past few days, the one that involved scaring Momoka so much that she would run into the protective arms of Kazukiyo. For his sake, I hope the plan works, he seems like he deserves a break after this past week.

 

“Hey, Kaoru, tell us the story about the evil clock tower witch!” Hikaru chuckled, eyes locked onto a terrified class rep who was shaking in his place.

 

“One Halloween, many years ago, a girl dressed in a witch costume fell to her death from the tower-“

 

“And now, whoever sees her ghost on Halloween night… will be cursed forever!” They said un unison.

 

Kazukiyo wailed in fright, the twins getting a mild scolding from Haruhi. The boys whined that they were growing bored with no one passing by to scare. Meanwhile, something down the hall caught my eye, not just a person looking to scare someone, but someone lurking around as if trying to avoid being seen completely. Suspicion rose within me and I had a bad feeling about whoever I saw, so with a quiet ‘I’ll be right back’ I left the four behind.

 

I felt a pair of eyes on me as I crept away, familiar and non-threatening. Kaoru. _I won’t be long, no need to worry_.

 

Five minutes down the hallway and I found a door cracked open, a faint shuffling emitting from inside. There were no voices, nothing that would suggest it was the other group of students trying to scare me. I quietly entered the room, trying to be as silent as possible and raising the bottom of my dress in order to keep it from brushing against anything. Once in the middle of the room, I held my breath. No shuffling, no footsteps, no breathing. There was no one here.

 

“The hell…” I swore to myself, preparing to turn around and meet up with my group, but a sudden harsh blow to the side of my head sent me to the floor, causing me to momentarily lose consciousness.

 

Heavy footsteps racing down the hall pulled me back into wakefulness. Sitting up, my head pounded and my body felt as heavy as led. _Did someone… knock me out?_ Two figures stumbled into the room before the door slammed closed, one curled up against the wall while the other got up to bang harshly on the door.

 

“Damn it, they’ve locked us in.”

 

I grunted softly, forcing myself to stand, “Kaoru? Is that you?” I stumbled through the room, towards the door, hearing a surprised gasp from a much welcomed voice.

 

“(Y/N)! I was worried we lost you for a sec there. Whoa, you didn’t tell me you brought fake blood with you!” His voice got closer and eventually, I could see him in the dimly lit room, the only source of light being the moon shining through the windows. I cocked my head slightly, pain shooting through my skull and causing me to wince. _Fake blood?_ His cheery features dulled after a few seconds, seeming to understand.

 

I looked over to Kazukiyo, smiling through the pain and acting nonchalant. “Yeah, wasn’t expecting to see you guys, though. Waste of a trick, I guess,” I laughed awkwardly, but my attempts seemed to work as the class rep calmed down and was non-the-wiser of just how real the blood was.

 

Kaoru came closer until there was barely any room between us, “How did this happen? Are you okay? Crap, that’s a lot of blood, (Y/N)…” He kept mumbling to himself as he rummaged through his pockets, pulling out a handkerchief and pressing it against my wound. I did my best not to react, but the pain was agonising and caused me to wince again, thankfully I didn’t startle Kazukiyo by gasping though. Now silent, my boyfriend wrapped the cloth around my head and tied it together on the opposite side of the wound. “Are you going to be okay?” Now free of the cloth, both of his hands were cupping my cheeks.

 

“Kaoru, I’m a little lightheaded and have a massive headache, but I’ll be fine,” I brought both hands up to clasp around his wrists, thumbs gently rubbing over his skin in a soothing manner.

 

He led me towards the wall so I could sit down and regain some energy. He stood at the door for a few minutes, listening to see if anyone was on the other side but resigned himself to the floor, sitting close to my right so I could lean on him. “It’s hopeless. There’s no one outside. Looks like the A Team got a little overzealous, huh?”

 

“Which one are you?” Kazukiyo asked from the right of us both.

 

The question didn’t bother the redhead, “I’m Kaoru.” He offered the other boy a kind smile, “Are you scared?”

 

“Well, not anymore. No, my nerves kind of shut down.”

 

Kaoru sighed and placed his chin on his hand, “Man, our plans are completely shot. Such a shame. We even had it all figured out, down to the last detail. We had worked out a plan to frighten Kurakano half to death and then let you come charging to her rescue.”

 

“Wow, you’d do that for me? That’s really thoughtful of you. But I don’t stand a chance, there’s someone else she likes.” Kazukiyo’s voice was solemn, yet with a smile on his face, he continued, “While it's true Fujioka doesn't seem to feel the same way quite yet, I'm positive that it's only a matter of time.”

 

Kaoru and I silently laughed and I turned so my forehead was pressed into his shoulder, “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. I can promise you that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“It just won’t.”

 

“Kazukiyo,” I spoke, lifting my head and offering him a small smile, “I’ve seen romance form in strange ways. It might not always be clear that it’s there, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t.”

 

He seemed to consider our words for a second, “Still, this may sound weird, but I don't wanna risk changing anything right now because things are perfect. Just being on the committee with her is such an honor. If this is as good as it's going to get, I'm still grateful.”

 

Kaoru crossed his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling, “So in other words, you've cast a spell on the carriage.” _A carriage? Is that a metaphor?_ “And maybe you're right, Class Rep. Keeping things the way they are wouldn't be so bad. I'm sure that's what the boss had in mind when he put a spell on his own carriage. We're like a family to him. He doesn't want that to change.” The words spun around in my mind for a moment, not helping at all with the headache, but very slowly, it started to make sense. To me, at least.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Back when we were children, neither the boss nor Hikaru and I had many friends to speak of. Now he just wants to enjoy what he has for as long as he can. I can't blame him.” He glanced down at me for a split-second before looking up again.

 

“Uh, sorry, but you’ve lost me.”

 

“But still, one of these days, it’ll all turn back into that same old grubby pumpkin again.”

 

The moment was interrupted by a loud bang and Hikaru’s voice on the other side of the door, “Kaoru! Are you in there?! Kaoru!” Rising from the floor, Kaoru offered me a hand up, running to his brother as soon as he burst through the door.

 

“Hikaru!” They locked each other in a loving embrace, a familial one that was genuine, none of the ‘forbidden love’ overtones used in the club room.

 

“Hikaru.” “Kaoru.”

 

I smiled, watching the two together; Hikaru was an important part of Kaoru’s life, and seeing that bond made my heart swell with love.

 

“Uh, so what happened to Fujioka?” Kazukiyo muttered out awkwardly.

 

The loving embrace ended and Hikaru stood there with a blank expression, “Oh yeah, that’s right… Kinda lost track…”

 

We all entered the hallway to see Haruhi panting as she ran towards us, “What is wrong with you?” She gasped for breath, hunching over with hands on her knees, “I get us out and… You go tearing off by yourself!”

 

“Sorry…” Hikaru apologized bashfully, hands up in a ‘calm down’ motion.

 

We eventually met up with the other team, receiving a scolding comment from one of the boys. “Wasn’t that you guys trying to scare us?” Kaoru asked.

 

Everyone exchanged confused looks for a moment, the silence broken when the screams of Renge and Momoka echoed throughout the room. Panic ensued as a large dark shadow grew and climbed up the wall, Kaoru even going to the extent of picking me up and running away with the others. I merely shook my head, keeping a hand pressed against the makeshift bandage.

 

 

“They sure got us,” Haruhi grumbled, eyes scanning over the student newsletter pinned to the board.

 

Hikaru nodded, “Nekozawa is such a jerk.”

 

“How did we not know that was Belzenef?” Kaoru questioned.

 

“I don’t know about you guys, but it takes more than a shadow puppet to scare me.” I sent a playful glance to the twins and Haruhi, each returning the gesture with a smile of shake of the head.

 

Haruhi’s eyes stayed locked onto me while the twins listened to Momoka and Kazukiyo talk, “Hey, (Y/N). How’s your head doing?” She gestured to the bandage wrapped securely around my head and somewhat covered by my hair.

 

“Oh, not too bad. Needed a few stitches in the end, but nothing that could keep me down,” I winked. She smiled. Currently, everyone outside of the Host Club, and Renge, thought I had just fallen in the dark and pretended it was fake blood to avert worry. None of them could know that I was attacked, on grounds and in the dark no less.

 

The two behind me began walking away, prompting Kaoru to speak up again, “Would you look at that? I guess the spell on the carriage can’t last forever, after all.”

 

“What do you mean?” his brother asked, not understanding what Kaoru was muttering about.

 

Kaoru didn’t give him an explanation, simply stretching his arms as he walked around his brother and Haruhi, “Well, since you ran towards me in that situation, I suppose everything is all right for now.” Hikaru hummed, still believing that his brother was talking nonsense. “Nothing, nothing. Just my own private joke.” He gave the two a shove, prompting them to start walking, “Let’s get out of here!” Only steps after releasing the other two’s shoulders, the soft-spoken twin stopped, just watching them speak to each other as they walked.

 

 

“What did you tell Hikaru?”

 

“Oh, I just said that you were stuck on some homework and needed me to come help. He didn’t seem very suspicious,” he chuckled, taking the steaming hot cup from my hands and leaning back into the sofa. I joined him and scooted closer until my thigh was pressed against his, head now able to comfortably rest on his shoulder like the night before – minus the fresh head-wound and a bit cosier. “(Y/N)… Do you ever feel lost?”

 

I looked up at him through my lashes, “If you mean it in the sense that I think you do, then… yes, I sometimes feel lost.” The silent question lingered in his eyes, so I continued, “You know that my mother passed away quite a while ago now. During my time in the system, I just felt lost… Like I was a speck in a larger world, like I was nothing special. But then my grandfather came along and gave me purpose. I don’t feel so lost because of him.” I lifted my head and looked him straight in the eye, “And after meeting you, I’ve never felt more confident about where I am or what I’m doing.”

 

He moved forward to press a kiss against my lips, lingering for a while before pulling away, pressing his forehead against mine. “One day Hikaru will realize he wants to take the next step on his own... When that happens, I don't know what I'll do.”

 

“It’s okay to feel that way,” I combed a hand through his hair, “But know that when that happens, _you_ won’t be alone.”


	18. Spy Mission? Spy Mission!

**Reader’s POV**

 

It had been just over a week since the mishap with Kasanoda, even just thinking back on it now, I couldn’t help but smile. Kasanoda falling in love with Haruhi wasn’t all that surprising, she seemed to have the same effect on people that Ezio did on almost every woman he met. Watching the twins shake in anger as Haruhi hosted the lovestruck male, Tamaki losing the ability to think straight before he defended his ‘precious daughter’, only to be shot down by the other boy’s words.

 

 

_“Hey, (Y/N). If Haruhi became a mob wife, would you guys become enemies?” the twins leaned over my shoulders, speaking lowly in each ear._

_“Well, to my knowledge, most mob families are very territorial and wouldn’t want to tarnish their name by working with outsiders. Being a Templar, or even an associate, that requires dedication and loyalty. A mob like Kasanoda’s wouldn’t pledge themselves to that.” I shrugged off the topic quickly, not comfortable with it being brought up during club hours._

 

 

They really did worry too much. It lifted my heart, however, to know that they worried about such minimalistic things, the kind of worries that high school students _should_ have.

 

 

_I called out to Kasanoda, “I may not look very strong, but trust me, I look out for these guys as much as they look out for me. We’re… a family.”_

_“I can’t believe it… So, you helped me? But, how come?”_

_Mori lifted a hand to pat the shorter man on the head, “We can tell who the bad guys are by looking at them.”_

 

 

“(Y/N),” a whispered voice caught my attention. Looking around the club room, I eventually locked eyes with Kaoru who was peeking out from behind a pillar. Ensuring that no one saw us and became suspicious of a private conversation, I met him behind the large piece of wall. “Hi,” he grinned.

 

“I hope you didn’t call me over here for a simple ‘hi’,” I teased. He peeked around the pillar once again, apparently finding it safe enough to sneak a quick kiss. “Hm, better.”

 

When he pulled away and took a step back, he propped both hands against his hips and leaning down slightly. “I didn’t bring you here just for that. I actually wanted to invite you to a party my mother is having this Friday.”

 

“A party? Why would you want me to go?”

 

“To be my date! Why else?”

 

I fought back a smile, trying not to let his happy demeanour affect me. “Your date? So, you’re saying that we’re done hiding this?”

 

He nodded with confidence, “Yep! I want everyone to know who my beautiful girlfriend is… And I figured you’d be interested in this party because there’s this guy who was invited, Katai. I don’t remember his first name, but I recall you mentioning the name before.” Ohta Katai, an associate of Matsuno Kikugoro. “My mom invited him since they’ve done business together before, but I know working with him has always been pretty hit and miss for her.”

 

“Sounds suspicious. I’ll have to keep an eye on him…”

 

“So, that means you’ll come to the party?” His eyes twinkled with excitement.

 

 _Well, I can’t very well say no_. “Okay. But I think we should get Hikaru to invite Haruhi, too.” He seemed to understand my idea – take advantage of the situation and before the other two know it, it becomes a double date. Kind of.

 

 

**Kaoru’s POV**

 

“Invite (Y/N) and Haruhi? Why?” Hikaru looked at me like I’d grown a second head.

 

I released an exasperated sigh as I sat on my bed, “You know mom would love to meet them. She’s always nagging us to bring plus-ones to her parties.”

 

“Yeah, but we never do, so she won’t be surprised when we, once again, turn up with no one else.” He sure is stubborn…

 

“Hikaru… Please just invite Haruhi as your plus-one. I already asked (Y/N) and she said yes,” I pulled out the last card I could think of, the sad eyes.

 

He ran a hand down his face, then through his hair. His eyes were turned away, looking anywhere but in my direction in an obvious attempt not to give in; unlucky for him, he couldn’t help but do just that. “Fine! I don’t know why you’re so determined to take them though…”

 

_Don’t worry, you’ll find out._

 

 

Once Friday finally rolled around and evening fell, Hikaru and I stood at the front of the estate as we waited for the limo to arrive from picking up both Haruhi and (Y/N). We wore matching black and white suits, an orange rose resting in my breast pocket, mirroring Hikaru’s blue one.

 

When the limo came into sight, I nudged Hikaru with my elbow. He turned to me with a questioning gaze, eyes cast downwards to see that I was passing him a rose similar to the one in his pocket. “Kaoru, what-“

 

I didn’t give him a chance to answer, leaving the rose in his hands and stepping forward to open the limo door. Haruhi stepped out first, taking my offered hand and making sure that she didn’t trip over her pink dress, she then stepped aside with Hikaru to allow (Y/N) to move across the back seat. I extended my hand the same way I did before, clasping it around her delicate, but strong, fingers. Feet first, she pulled herself out of the limo and stood tall; the grey dress hugged her body perfectly, white lace accenting the dipped collar just below her collar bones and sleeves that clung to her arms, stopping just past the elbow. The skirt reached her ankles and swung around her loosely, falling perfectly from the corset-like bodice.

 

“You look beautiful,” I whispered in her ear as I threaded an orange rose into her hair.

 

“Thank you. I took a little inspiration from Sister Teodora, a friend of Ezio’s. Though, I did make a few altercations so it seemed less… courtesan-esque.” I coughed, trying to cover the slight blush on my cheeks as I closed the limo door and began the walk towards the party inside. (Y/N) quietly giggled as she wrapped her arm around my elbow.

 

Hikaru seemed more nervous about what to do with his rose, braiding it into Haruhi’s hair possibly too intimate of an act, so he merely handed it to her. The gesture went straight over her head, though, as she only smiled up at my twin and tucked the flower into her dress’ belt.

 

**Reader’s POV**

 

The main hall was very spacious, certainly big enough for a mansion and perfect for business parties like the one currently happening. Kaoru’s right hand was resting on my lower back, having removed itself from my arm and perching in a more relaxed manner. The twins seemed to be waiting for something, both sets of eyes scanning the room from left to right, and vice-versa.

 

Soon enough, a tall woman with short hair danced over to us. “Boys! There you are! I see you’ve been waiting outside for your dates,” she winked. This must be their mother, the famous fashion designer. “Aren’t you both just gorgeous! My name is Yuzuha Hitachiin.”

 

Haruhi bowed her head, “Hello, I’m Haruhi Fujioka, Hikaru’s plus-one. It’s very nice to meet you.”

 

“And I’m (Y/N) Miles, Kaoru’s girlfriend.” Like Haruhi, I bowed respectfully.

 

Shocked gasps emitted from the two on our left, but Yuzuha cheered with glee, “Oh, dear! Why didn’t you tell me you had such a beautiful girlfriend, Kaoru? Is that dress of your own design? Let me guess… Renascence Italy?”

 

“Yes, actually! I’m glad you noticed.”

 

The conversation dwindled after the introductions, Yuzuha dashing off to speak with other guests with a bright smile on her face. “Well, she seemed to approve.” Kaoru and I laughed to ourselves, not taking notice of the other two and their stares.

 

Hikaru was the first to ask, clearing his throat, “Kaoru, are you guys really together?”

 

“Yeah. We’ve been together since, um… Just after Karuizawa?” He looked to me for confirmation, receiving a confident nod. He smiled and turned back to his brother, “We kept quiet about it for so long because we didn’t want to cause any problems with the Host Club. Who knows what the guests would do if they knew one of the hosts was off limits.”

 

I could tell that he was only giving him half of the truth – he didn’t want to upset Hikaru, the guests were the last thing on his mind. After seeing the way he reacted to Haruhi’s old friend, that was enough to make the younger twin worry. He didn’t want Hikaru to react negatively to me dating his brother, so he waited until it was a better time. A time where the older twin might be more understanding.

 

“Alright,” Hikaru said, “I understand. I’m happy for you.” His tone was softer than usual, and after hearing a lot of lies during my time training as an Assassin, I knew his words were genuine.

 

 

A few hours had passed since arriving at the party. Kaoru, Hikaru, Haruhi and myself were stood near the refreshments table after spending a few songs dancing. Hikaru and Haruhi didn’t seem comfortable enough to dance as close as me and Kaoru, but it was a start.

 

“He’s left her office,” Hikaru leaned over to whisper, making sure no one but the four of us would hear. We all cautiously looked to the top of the staircase where Ohta Katai was stood, observing the crowd before descending to the first floor once again.

 

Kaoru and I told the two earlier in the evening what the plan was.

 

 

_“It’s the other reason why I’m here. He’s working with the people I’m trying to stop, so I need to keep an eye on him. If I could get a chance to talk with your mother in private, that would be helpful, too.”_

_“Whoa, wait a second. Our mom isn’t up to anything! She practically hates Katai and his business!” Hikaru said, defensively._

_Haruhi stepped in, “I don’t think she wants to interrogate Yuzuha. I don’t think Kaoru wouldn’t have brought her here if it put your mom at risk.”_

_I nodded, thankful she was so level-headed. “Haruhi’s right. I need to ask your mom about Ohta and what he might be up to. Trust me, she’s in no danger.”_

 

 

“Come on.” I took hold of Kaoru’s hand, letting him escort me up the staircase and towards his mother’s office. We made sure to look as inconspicuous as possible, smiling at each other every now and then while also slowing down to exchange a short peck on the cheek.

 

The room was a very short distance down the hall and once in front of the door, my companion knocked three times.

 

“ _Who is it?_ ”

 

He turned the knob, poking his head through the crack before stepping through completely. “Hi, mom.”

 

“Hikaru! What’s up, sweetheart?”

 

The wrong name didn’t even seem to bother him as he turned to me, waving me in and gently pushing me forward. He squeezed my hand before letting it slip away, exiting the room without a word.

 

“Hello, Mrs. Hitachiin. I’m sorry if now isn’t a good time.”

 

She smiled, “No, no. It’s fine. It must be important for Kaoru to look so serious. And please, call me Yuzuha.”

 

I cocked my head to the side, “Wait… So, you _did_ know that it was Kaoru?” She didn’t answer, simply crossing her arms and waiting patiently for me to speak. “Well, Yuzuha, I’m actually here to ask about Mr. Ohta Katai. I’ve been told that you two don’t really get along.”

 

“Yes, that’s right. I’m not a fan of him as a person, never mind as a business partner. He likes to be in charge, can’t stand it when someone is louder than he is. But why are you so curious?”

 

I walked closer to where she stood, leaning against a large wooden desk. “I represent a certain organisation that has reason to suspect Mr. Katai of… devious acts.”

 

Silence hung in the air for what felt like minutes. Yuzuha’s eyes were cast downward, staring blankly at the floor before finally meeting my own. Her voice was small, “An Assassin?” The emotion in her eyes wasn’t one of fear, nor was it anger. What is she thinking? “Assassins… They’ve been around for as long as time itself. I assume you’re surprised that I know of them.”

 

“A little. Not many are aware that they existed at all, these days.”

 

“Well, you may be interested to know that I have some Assassin heritage myself,” she said, uncrossing her arms and pushing herself away from the desk. “I’m not as ditzy as most think I am. Even my sons think that I can’t actually tell them apart. My family has stayed away from the Brotherhood for centuries, it’s safer that way. So, please, tell me that Kaoru isn’t going to be in danger now that he’s closer to this than any Hitachiin has been for a long time.”

 

Her expression was deadly serious, yet her tone was pleading. I didn’t even have to think twice about my answer, “He’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I assure you, if his life were in danger, I’d die to protect him.”

 

 

“So? What happened?” I joined my three comrades back in the main hall, Kaoru being the first to ask about the last ten minutes.

 

“We had a nice little chat. And Ohta Katai is in even more trouble than he knows,” I mumbled over the lip of my glass.


	19. A Family, Discovered!

**Reader’s POV**

 

Ohta Katai. A Templar with sadistic plans hidden behind the façade of a successful business man. His life in even more danger than before, now that I know of his biggest secret.

 

Ohta Katai, brother to Mitsugi Katai, the man behind it all. According to Rebecca, Mitsugi has a well-hidden file that details his history before three years ago, one of his biggest secrets being his change of name. Almost four years ago he turned away from his Katai roots and adopted the name Mitsugi Masaki, becoming a new man that would be the future leader of the Templar Order in Japan. He was my target, my mission, my end goal.

 

But for now… I had his brother to deal with.

 

He would be the only one that could tell me the true location of his brother’s whereabouts, and surely Mitsugi will flee when news of his brother’s demise reaches him – therefore, I have to be tactical.

 

“I’m going to follow him for the next week, get some intel and hopefully find a window of opportunity to take him out.”

 

“Remember, (Y/N), you don’t need to kill him yet. These aristocrats have parties to celebrate themselves all the time, you could catch him off guard during one of those.”

 

I breath out a sigh, “Alright… Yeah, you’re right, Shaun. I just want these bastards gone.” After doing extensive research on Ohta, paired with Yuzuha’s helpful information and Rebecca’s help, I’d found enough to condemn the man to death. He’d had Matsuno Kikugoro embezzle money and move it around enough in order to get away with it, Yahiro Kichibei was ordered to oversee the construction of a large building that would pass as an electronics company while actually being the headquarters for Mitsugi’s Templars, Shirai Shika moved weapons for him on the side while being a fulltime arms dealer and, finally, Ohta Katai who bought various businesses for his brother – the front man for Mitsugi’s misdeeds.

 

“I know you do. Try not to think yourself to death, please.” For the first time today, I cracked a smile. “Isn’t your school having some sort of fair soon?”

 

“Yeah, the Ouran Fair, two days for students to show off their leadership skills and present how ready they are to become the next in line for their parent’s businesses. I’m gonna spend it with Kaoru and the club, now that I’m their ‘unofficial helper’.”

 

I heard one of his rare half-laughs, “Well, good luck with that. I imagine being surrounded by pampered and privileged teens is bad enough, never mind their parents too.”

 

“Hmm, I used to think that too…” _And then I found a Host Club_ …

 

 

“Thank you for coming, dear! I can’t believe you don’t have a proper outfit already,” Yuzuha waves her hands around, tape-measure draped around her neck and pin cushion tied around her wrist.

 

Before returning to the party a few days ago, she asked me about my Assassin attire, sounding appalled when I told her that I wore a black hoodie and pants whenever I performed Assassin’s work. She insisted that she design my new outfit, something that complimented my frame while hiding my identity and remaining subtle enough that I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. I had my arm bracer wrapped around my left forearm so the sleeves would fit around it, Yuzuha insistent about using various materials such as leather and cotton.

 

“I have to admit, I’ve always wanted beautiful robes like my ancestors had. Especially Ezio’s, they were amazing.”

 

Draping a sheet of dark fabric over my head, she positioned it to fit like a hood before placing pins here and there. “Looking the part is one of the most exciting parts, why do you think I became a designer?” I truly loved speaking with Yuzuha, she was so free spirited and kind, sometimes even a little teasing. “Would you like to stay for dinner? I’m sure Kaoru would love to see you.” _Like I said, teasing_.

 

“I’d love to, it’ll be nice to eat with company again.”

 

Her hands paused as they hovered over my shoulders, “Do you live alone? What about your parents?”

 

“I lost my mother when I was eight and never knew my father. He was an Assassin, too… Do you remember two years ago, the event that the news described as a kind of ‘global aurora borealis’?” Her eyes spoke for her, showing that she recognised the event. “That was caused by my father when he sacrificed his life to prevent a disaster that would send most of us to death, but some back to the stone age.” I could see the incoming apology, “Don’t apologise, trust me, I’m fine with it. I never knew him, and I still have my grandad who taught me everything I know… Plus, I have Kaoru and the others. If given the option, I wouldn’t trade my situation for any other right now.”

 

She watched me, small smile on her face at the mention of her son. She moved the hood out of the way and stroked my hair back, “You have a place in this family now, you know. You, and your secret, are safe with all of us.”

 

 

Hikaru’s teasing voice floated by, close to my left ear. “Mom put you in that dress?” I turned around to see the orange-haired teen leaning back with his hands in his pockets. He smirked and wrapped one arm around my waist, “You look beautiful.”

 

“Hikaru…” I warned, both amused and exasperated.

 

He huffed, “Wow, so you really can tell us apart.” He moved away, turning towards the stairs as our favourite person descended them.

 

“I told you, she’s perfect,” Kaoru shrugged, his arms looping around me more fluidly than Hikaru’s did.

 

The three of us entered the dining room to see Yuzuha already sat at the table, “I’m afraid that my husband is on a business trip, so it’ll just be us four tonight. I myself will be leaving soon and that’s why I won’t be at the Ouran Fair next week. Take care of my boys, will you?”

 

I laughed as I took a seat near her, opposite Kaoru. “Of course. I’ll try to keep them out of trouble.”

 

“Like that’ll happen,” they snicker.

 

The hour passed with light conversation and banter from all in attendance. Hikaru and Kaoru kept pretending that Yuzuha hadn’t addressed the correct twin, causing her to apologize and laugh it off, unbeknownst to the two that she was right, and she knew it. The cheery woman asked about my time living in Japan and if I was adjusting well, earning a positive response and jab at Kaoru for being ‘One of my favourite aspects about the country’.

 

“You know,” Yuzuha sighed, smiling as she placed her glass of wine on the table, “I think now would be a great time to tell them,” she said, looking right at me.

 

“Tell us what?” the twins asked, eyes bouncing between their mother and me.

 

She crossed her arms on the table and smiled at the two, “My boys, I love you both so much… I think it’s an appropriate time to let you know something about our family history. A few centuries ago, your ancestors were involved with the Japanese Brotherhood of Assassins.” Silence lingered after that. The twins stared at their mother in mild shock, as if the words hadn’t fully sunk in and were just ghosting over the surface. “I know it must sound crazy, but further back in our bloodline, we were just like (Y/N). Perhaps our old relatives were once in contact with hers,” her train of thought seemed to derail and veer off in a different direction.

 

I chuckled lightly, “I doubt it. The family that I know of came from Western Syria, Florence, Britain and British America.”

 

“My, how diverse!”

 

“Mom,” Kaoru started, “Are you saying-“

 

“That we’re descendants of…“ Hikaru continued.

 

After the pause, they finished together, “Assassins!?”

 

“Did I not make that clear?” she whispered to me. I tried to restrain myself as the laugh bubbled up from my chest, only for it to burst out as I turn my head away from the three.

 

The shell-shocked boys seemed to calm slightly, “Whoa…” I understood what they were feeling right now, it’s how I felt when Rebecca, Shaun and William first introduced me to the world of Assassins – like you’re missing out on a family tradition with a side order of confusion.

 

“Guys, I know how it feels to be told this kind of thing, but at the same time, our situations are much different. Your family left this life behind a long time ago for a reason, and just because they served the Order in no way means it’s your duty to do the same,” I said, looking at them with a steady gaze. “Like I told you before, Kaoru, I learned to become an Assassin to have a purpose that I lacked before. My family’s done this for millennia, but even my dad tried to run away from it; that’s kinda the reason I was even born… But if knowing this about your family makes you want to do something different, you have to be sure of it.”

 

Neither of them expected such a speech from me, even Yuzuha seemed surprised. Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other for a while, like a silent conversation, before turning to their mother and I. “We think life is fine how it is right now.”

 

“We’re not exactly like you or Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai,” Hikaru said.

 

“We don’t fight with physical strength unless it’s needed,” Kaoru shrugged beside his brother, “And I think all of us worrying about you is enough, never mind the two of us.”

 

I smiled at them, reaching my hand across the table, palm-up, for them to take. Kaoru placed his down first, followed by Hikaru, followed by Yuzuha. She squeezed all three hands below hers, “It’s a life that our family is past. Thank you, boys, for choosing to leave it that way.”

 

“Don’t worry, mom. We’re more interested in designing (Y/N)’s Assassin clothes than being Assassins ourselves.”

 

I shook my head at the smirking two. _I think that, someday, I’ll leave this behind too. But for now, I’m going to keep protecting the world from the shadows_ , I think, squeezing the three hands above mine.


	20. The Host Club Declares Dissolution!

**Reader’s POV**

 

I released a contented sigh, watching as men in blue shirts and tan pants or green uniforms move things around, occasionally talking to serious looking students that gave them orders. Today was the first day of the Ouran Fair and, having nothing to do or show, I simply watched the hustle and bustle around me.

 

A figure passed by me, their hand brushing over my waist for a mere second, “C’mon, (Y/N)!” I watched Kaoru jog over to the carriage that already carried Mori, Honey, Tamaki and Hikaru, my goofy excuse for a boyfriend glancing over his shoulder at me with that beautiful smile of his.

 

The carriage began to set off once I was about a foot away and I could already see that there were no free seats, so my solution was to slowly chase the horse-drawn waggon before hoisting myself onto the back, legs tucked beneath me. The breeze caressed my face and pushed my hair back in a dramatic manner, and when I looked towards Kaoru, I saw him smiling gently at me.

 

“Hey, you know, you’ve gotten pretty good at this,” he said, turning to Hikaru who was manning the reigns with Mori.

 

“There’s nothing to it. You should have practiced with me earlier.”

 

“Well, just because we're twins doesn't make both of us good drivers.” His comment made me think back to the time I saw Connor’s memories, specifically when he would be chasing or running away from people while riding on a horse-drawn carriage. _I’ll never understand how he managed to do it so well_ …

 

Honey smiled, “It’s kinda neat having us all together like this for a carriage ride, huh?” Everyone seemed to silently agree, aside from Haruhi who mumbled out ‘Yeah, whatever’.

 

“Oh, and for the actual parade tomorrow, we'll all be in 18th century French costumes.  
Your outfit will be especially opulent, Haruhi. Don’t think I’m forgetting about you, either, (Y/N)!”

 

I shake my head, leaning over to ruffle the blonde’s hair. “I would be honoured to dress up for the parade, Tamaki.”

 

“Oh, wonderful…” Haruhi sulks.

 

 

“ _Now remember, as part of the Fair, the Host Club will be opened to parents and visitors for the next two days, which means we will need to be even more charming than usual. Let's get out there and show our own guests the time of their lives!_ ”

 

 

“Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?”

 

“Quite often, yeah. But I don’t mind hearing you say it again.”

 

Haruhi and I had just finished getting changed in one of the spare rooms before she left to start serving the guests. I didn’t get a chance to leave right behind her because I was flagged down by a charming redhead that wanted to see me before entertaining guests all day.

 

He wore a dark grey button-up with black slacks and a white vest, his hair smoothed out and making him look smarter than usual. As much as I liked the well-groomed look, I kind of missed his scruffy style. “You don’t look half bad either,” he smiled, hands smoothing over my sides and removing any creases from the white dress. Like the hosts’ uniforms, my dress was white around the torso, grey on the sleeves and black around the skirt.

 

“Why, thank you.”

 

Without another word, he leaned down and captured my lips with his, hands sliding round to my lowed back and pulling me in closer. My arms wrapped around his neck and I had to resist running my hands through his currently neat hair. His kiss and embrace had me losing my mind, like all my thoughts were just slipping away and I had not a care in the world. But all good things have to come to an end.

 

“We have a job to do,” I whispered, pulling away from his lips by only an inch.

 

He pressed his forehead to mine, “I’d rather stand here like this, though.”

 

After threatening to get Hikaru to drag him back to the club room, Kaoru finally skulked away and got on with the days duties. I spent a handful of time speaking to parents and students, explaining how the Host Club was just as good as their guests.

 

“This is interesting. Not sure I understand all this, though.” I turned around at the sound of the familiar voice, seeing none other than my own grandfather, William Miles.

 

“William…? What are you-“

 

“What? I can’t visit my own granddaughter?” Seeing my hesitance to hug him, he opened his arms and pulled me in himself. “I know what you’re probably thinking and yes, I might not completely understand this ‘Host Club’ business, but I made the mistake of not giving Desmond a choice. I want to give you the freedom he never got while growing up.”

 

Standing back, I looked at him with a gentle smile, “Thank you, William. Oh! I know.” Seeing Tamaki drifting by, I caught his elbow and placed him in front of my grandfather, “Tamaki, why don’t you explain what the Host Club is.”

 

He offered William a charming smile and used his usual exaggerated hand gestures while speaking dramatically, “The Ouran Host Club is where the school's handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. Just think of it as Ouran Academy's elegant playground for the super rich and beautiful. (Y/N) here is a dear friend of all the hosts and spends a lot of her time helping us out; she’s one of two extraordinary honor students currently attending Ouran and we’re very lucky to have both of them.”

 

“Well, I’m glad my granddaughter has made so many good friends,” William nodded, the word ‘granddaughter’ sending Tamaki into shock.

 

“G-granddaughter? (Y/N), why didn’t you tell me your grandfather was visiting? Hello, sir. My name is Tamaki Suoh. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

 

William took his outstretched hand, “William Miles. Likewise.”

 

After some relaxed conversation between the two, Tamaki ran off to entertain more people and was quickly replaced by host after host, starting with Kyoya, then Haruhi, Honey and Mori. William seemed to lighten up to Kyoya the most and I wasn’t surprised with them both being strict and calculated.

 

Once those five finished speaking with him, I felt myself growing anxious. _Only two left_ … By now the twins had caught wind of what was happening and took it upon themselves to approach William without me introducing them.

 

“Hello, Mr. Miles. We’re the Hitachiin Brothers, Hikaru and Kaoru. We’re happy to finally meet you,” they both bowed, mirroring each other like they usually did.

 

He reacted indifferently to the pair as they exchanged conversation, and before long, Hikaru excused himself, understanding that I needed to speak privately with the other two now. “William, now that you’ve met all of my new friends… Well… Kaoru and I are actually… together.” _Good job, (Y/N). You can kill a man but you can’t introduce your boyfriend to you grandad_.

 

“Does he know?”

 

“Yes, sir. My family actually has some history with the Order,” Kaoru spoke for me, asserting himself and playing the confident role. “I care for (Y/N) more than I’ve ever really cared for anyone outside of my family and even though I might not exactly be able to protect her, I intend to do everything I can to make her happy.”

 

 _Wow, where did that come from?_ Kaoru’s air of confidence didn’t waver as William stared him down. “Alright. (Y/N)’s a smart girl, I trust that she can handle herself alone in Japan, therefore I trust that she can make good choices when it comes to relationships.”

 

I sighed, smiling widely at him, “Thank you,” I breathed.

 

Eventually, Kaoru re-joined his brother and left me alone with the older man. “I assume you know the other reason why I’m here.” I nodded, prompting him to continue, “I’ll be assisting you in taking out Ohta Katai and his brother, Mitsugi. Thanks to the information you sent to Rebecca, we can infiltrate the party he’s throwing in two weeks.”

 

“It’ll be an honor to work alongside you, sir.”

 

 

William took his leave some time ago and it was now early afternoon, many parents still hanging around and only just turning up to the fair. Two of those parents being none other than Yoshio Ootori and Yuzuru Suoh.

 

It wasn’t that big of a surprise to see where Tamaki gets his antics from, the chairman offering Haruhi a rose and asking to be addressed as ‘Uncle’. What _was_ a surprise, however, was the resounding smack that echoed throughout the room, everyone turning to see Yoshio Ootori facing away from his son who kneeled on the floor in search of his glasses. The older man avoided my gaze as he walked past and I immediately went to Kyoya’s side.

 

“Kyoya, are you alright?”

 

“Your dad is so mean!”

 

“You should never ever hit someone who's wearing glasses.”

 

“I don't think it's really about that.”

 

Haruhi ignored the club to focus on one member, “Senpai, he wasn't upset with you because of the Host Club, was he?”

 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I haven’t been expecting this.”

 

I ran a hand through my hair and turned away from the conversation. I knew Yoshio was a cold man, but it really wasn’t necessary to strike his son like that. Perhaps next time I encounter him, I’ll express my disapproval of his actions.

 

The doors to the club open, revealing an older woman in traditional clothing, a young and conventionally attractive girl by her side. Haruhi seemed delighted at the thought of Tamaki’s grandmother visiting the club, but was soon surprised by Honey’s unimpressed ‘I hate that woman’ which was very out of character for the boy-Lolita. Her harsh words kept coming as Tamaki greeted her, and while he looked prepared for them, his eyes still showed just how sad they made him; he wanted her approval, but she didn’t give a damn.

 

She called out to the pretty woman in the red dress to approach, “For the remainder of the day and tomorrow, you will be Lady Éclair's personal escort. What's wrong? I gave you an order.”

 

“Hello there, Tamaki.”

 

With confliction, he agreed, “Very well, grandmother. I will do everything in my power to ensure her happiness just as you wish.”

 

 

I stood back in the side-room connected to Music Room #3, watching as Haruhi finished tying her tie and smoothing out her blazer. We’d changed into different outfits now, the boys wearing all white suits with red ties, while I donned a flowing white dress and red sash around my waist.

 

The whole club was kind of on edge after Tamaki left with this _Lady Éclair_. The whole situation just felt off. Even Haruhi couldn’t brush it off and go about the day like she normally would, she was staring off into space right in front of me and only seemed to break out of the trance when the voices of Tamaki and Éclair floated through the other room, soon followed by a beautiful piano performance. _He really knows his way around the keys_. Usually, Haruhi wasn’t one to eavesdrop, unlike me, but as she stood with her back to the door, I couldn’t help but think she was hiding some deep emotions.

 

“ _So, this is the room where you and that precious little Host Club hold court, isn't it? I must admit it was impressive seeing you all in action earlier. You must be very close_.”

 

“ _Naturally. You know what they say: the family that plays together stays together_.”

 

“ _Family. What a sentimental notion. I believe here in Japan, they refer to it as playing house. You are so whimsical, Tamaki. I bet that they fall all over themselves trying to keep up with you. Especially, that one in the glasses, the one that got slapped by his father_.”

 

There was a long pause, no talking or music could be heard coming from the other room. This prompted Haruhi to grab the handle and casually push the door open.

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Oh! Haruhi! What are you doing?” Tamaki rose from his seat at the piano, clearly elated to see the brunette’s face. I stepped around the girl until I was past the rooms threshold, “You too, (Y/N)?”

 

I looked to the emotionless girl beside me, placing a hand on her shoulder before making my way to the door. “We just came back to change outfits. You were the one who wanted us to change costumes at least three times a day,” I could tell she was trying to be relaxed, trying her best to keep the malice towards Éclair out of her tone. She didn’t speak again until I closed the door behind me, but I waited for her and continued to listen as I did, “ _Look, everyone is upset with you for disappearing on us like that. You should be with your club_.”

 

“ _My apologies. I'm afraid he belongs to me for the time being. Forgive me for asking, but do I detect a hint of jealousy?_ ”

 

“ _Oh, Haruhi! So, is it true? Is it true? You're actually jealous?_ ”

 

Haruhi opened the door and spoke as she passed through the doorway, “Sorry, but no. I guess I’ll be leaving now. Some of us have work to do.” And with that, she closed the door and gave me a sad look before shuffling away.

 

“ _Hey, wait a second. Haruhi!_ ”

 

 

Haruhi and I returned to the room where the Host Club was set up and was immediately greeted by everyone asking where Tamaki was. It was a good few hours later that we were all sat in the now empty room, Haruhi and I listening to the tale of Tamaki’s life. I knew that Haruhi was feeling what I was right now, knowing that we and Tamaki had something in common – a piece of family that we miss dearly and would do anything to get them back. He had a beloved mother in hiding who he couldn’t see because of his grandmother, Haruhi’s mother died when she was young and I’d lost both of my parents, but I was lucky to have a caring grandfather who took me in when I had nothing left.

 

“It's easy to feel sorry for him, but the hardships he endured as a child helped mould him into the person he is today. He'll be fine. The Host Club is his refuge, which means when all is said and done, he still has us,” Kyoya flashed one of his rare smiles, possibly the most genuine one I’d ever seen.

 

I leaned back against Kaoru whose arms were wrapped around me from behind. After listening to that whole story, I felt drained of… everything. Energy and emotion.

 

The large doors across the room swung open, bathing the dark room in golden light as two silhouettes stood in the doorway. “Tama-chan!” Honey cheered.

 

“Everyone, I have an important announcement. As of today, Lady Eclair Tonnerre and I are officially engaged. Furthermore, the Host Club will be permanently dissolved after the Ouran Fair. That is all.”


	21. This is Our Ouran Fair!

**Kaoru’s POV**

 

I brushed the hair out of her face as she slept, smoothing it down without waking her up. She’d finally fallen asleep and I didn’t want to ruin that.

 

 

_“(Y/N), what’s wrong? It… It’s about Tamaki, isn’t it?”_

_Her eyes brimmed with tears, but none of them fell, she wouldn’t let them. “Honey asked me before… what my biggest fear is. It’s this – losing the people I love. I’ve finally gotten the family I never really had and now it’s disappearing… and there’s nothing I can do about it…”_

_I hushed her quietly, bringing her into a tight embrace, “It’s alright… You’ve still got everyone else.”_

_“But for how long?” The faint break in her voice was a dead giveaway that the tears were spilling now._

_Pushing her back by her shoulders, I moved my hands up to her cheeks and wiped the tears away with my thumbs. “You will not lose me easily, I promise. I’ll be around for so long you’ll get sick of seeing me!” She cracked a small smile. “We might see him again someday, you know? It isn’t the end…”_

 

 

She’d only ever lost her mother before, never even knowing her father before he passed. To add to that, she’d never experienced friendship like she had over the past few months with the Host Club… just like Hikaru and me.

 

I left the guest room (Y/N) was staying in and walked a few steps across the hall, right into mine and Hikaru’s room.

 

“She asleep?” his quiet voice asked.

 

I nodded, walking towards the bed with heavy eyes. Neither of us spoke as we lied in bed, but I just had to mention it, “You feel the same, don’t you?” He didn’t need to answer, his silence was enough for me. “I’m sure we’ll see him later, just because he’s engaged doesn’t mean that we’ll never see him again.”

 

The more I said it, the less I believed it.

 

 

(Y/N) seemed to calm down during the second day of the fair, but just like everyone else, she was still feeling blue. It didn’t help that Tamaki never showed up at school today.

 

We’d all changed into our final outfits for the fair, the eighteenth century French costumes that the boss was so excited about. We all wore different colours, me in green, Hikaru in blue, Kyoya in purple, Honey-senpai in orange, Mori-senpai in dark blue, Haruhi in pink and (Y/N) in a simple white. I had no doubt that Tamaki would have worn red.

 

It occurred to me that I loved seeing (Y/N) in white. _Don’t let mom or Hikaru hear you saying that_ … _You’ll never hear the end of it_ , I blushed at my own internal monologue.

 

“I don’t understand, why am I the only host dressed as a girl?”

 

Hikaru leaned down to the sitting brunette, “Oh, come on. It’s cosplay, so it’s okay for you to dress like a girl.”

 

“I am one, you know,” she deadpanned.

 

I smiled at the two before turning to a serious looking Kyoya, “Well?” He pulled the phone away from his ear with a sigh.

 

“No luck. He’s not there.”

 

“I can’t believe senpai didn’t show. I really thought he was gonna make it, despite what she said.”

 

(Y/N) shuffled around the small table until she was between Hikaru and I. I wasn’t quite sure what prompted him to do so, but Hikaru stepped closer to us and held out his left arm to me. Thinking that I understood, I looped my arm behind his back and used the other to pull (Y/N) closer to us until she was being hugged by both of us from behind. She placed one hand on each arm and held them in place before leaning her head back to rest against our shoulders. _Hikaru must be warming up to our relationship quicker than I expected_ , I smiled. I guessed that he was sympathising with her right now.

 

“Hello, Shima? Been a while, hasn’t it? It’s Kyoya… How could he be so stupid?” His head turned to the rest of us, “Evidently, Tamaki is planning to return to France.”

 

“Tama-chan is going to leave us!?”

 

“You’re kidding me!” Hikaru’s hands balled into fists as he backed away slightly, “They can’t just end it so suddenly!”

 

My heart ached to see him like this, “Hikaru…”

 

“Yes? …Do you know when he’s leaving, Shima? …Why is he leaving so soon?” Looking out of the window, Kyoya gasped, “Tamaki!”

 

Everyone but Haruhi joined him at the window to see the red car drive past the school. It was hard to see him from here, but you couldn’t mistake that golden head of hair. Hikaru was shaking by now and almost fell over himself as we ran to the school’s parking lot where Kyoya said his family’s car would be waiting. But I couldn’t blame him, we were all running faster than we thought we ever could.

 

After reaching the sleek black car, men in protective armour circled us to ensure that we had no way out. Apparently, they’d been ordered by Kyoya’s father to prevent us from leaving the school grounds before Tamaki and Lady Éclair got on the plane to France.

 

Hikaru was quick to push Haruhi behind him, as was I with (Y/N), my instincts telling me to keep her out of harms way even if she was stronger than me. Kyoya was seething with rage as he slammed his hand down on the hood of the car, causing a surprisingly large dent. We were all drawn to the sound of horse’s hoofs clicking against the concrete floor right before they burst through the crowd of private police. “Hikaru, take the carriage.  
If you use the back hills bypass, you can cut them off,” Mori-senpai calmly spoke, claiming off the carriage with Honey-senpai in toe. As Hikaru and I climbed into the carriage, I turned to the two awestruck girls and held out my hand.

 

“Come on!” (Y/N) didn’t hesitate, allowing me to pull her up before we watched and waited for a frozen Haruhi.

 

Kyoya leaned down to offer her the encouragement she needed, “Haruhi, go get that idiot. Hurry!” He pushed her forward and right into our waiting arms, “Now go! This is your chance!”

 

Without a second to waste, Hikaru snapped the reigns and ordered the horses to run as fast as they could. Haruhi and I held onto the front seat as we quickly gained speed while (Y/N) bravely and expertly stood tall, one foot propped up on the back seat while her eyes scanned the horizon ahead.

 

“Hikaru! Don’t you think we should slow down!? Somebody could get hurt!”

 

“We’re not slowing down until we get the boss back!”

 

“But Hikaru!”

 

He shook his head with his eyes still fixated on the dirt path, “If it wasn't for Tamaki, then the two of us would still only be lost souls! We were able to become friends with Haruhi and the others because the Host Club brought us together! You might not have her met (Y/N) if it wasn’t for the club! To think it would all end suddenly like this… is something that I can't tolerate!”

 

Before I could reply, the carriage bounced before throwing itself forward, Hikaru flying out of his seat while I braced myself and Haruhi for the crash. I faintly heard (Y/N) call out my brother’s name as a flurry of white sailed above us.

 

The carriage landed back on its wheels and stopped completely. Abandoning Haruhi and the horses, I jumped from the waggon towards the pumpkin patch where the other two landed, “Hikaru, (Y/N)! No!” (Y/N) was closer, her white dress now covered in dirt from rolling. “(Y/N)!” She didn’t give me a chance to stop, already sitting up and waving me away so I could check on Hikaru. “Hikaru! Hikaru! Hikaru, are you okay? Is your arm hurting you?” I heard (Y/N) wander over to us, kneeling down to help see if the arm he was cradling to his side was seriously hurt.

 

“This can't be the end, boss. It's just not fair. The Host Club is the only thing that made us happy. Damn it…”

 

“Hikaru…”

 

He was shaking again, the possibility of losing something he held dear causing him to crumble in seconds. This was it, we were out of time; out of options. That was… until the horses reared up before dashing down the road, the only thing left in sight of Haruhi and the carriage being her pink dress, meaning that she was only in her underdress.

 

“What is she doing?”

 

We ran to the road and watched in silence. (Y/N) released a breathy laugh from behind me, “If anyone can get him back, it’s her.”

 

Before long, the familiar black car of the Ootori family appeared with a nervous looking driver behind the wheel, Mori-senpai watching him from the front seat while Kyoya and Honey were sat in the back. When the three of us climbed into the car, Hikaru rolled his shoulder a few times before relaxing in his seat.

 

“Are you okay, Hika-chan?” Honey asked, voice laced with concern that was likely increased by his worry for Tamaki.

 

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Would’ve been worse if (Y/N) didn’t break my fall,” he chuckled. Surprised, I look from him to (Y/N). “She jumped from the carriage when I fell out and took the impact of the initial landing for me. Thanks for doing that, by the way.”

 

Her head landed against my shoulder and she sighed, “Don’t worry about it. Couldn’t just let you fall without trying to help. I haven’t spent over two years jumping off of buildings and cliffs for nothing.” Despite her attempts at joking around, we were all still anxious about what would happen next; did Haruhi catch up to him? Was Tamaki already gone?

 

“Guys! Look!”  Honey was glued to the window and frantically waving us over, pointing towards a large lake that flowed under a tall bridge. Or, more accurately, I should say he’s pointing at the two figures stood by the water, both soaked from head to toe. The second the car pulled over we were pouring out of the car, Honey not even hesitating to call out to the figures, “Tama-chan! Haru-chan!”

 

Me and Hikaru were right behind him, “Boss!”

 

The three of us tackled him in a hug, holding onto him as if we’ll never let him go again. After today, I don’t think we will.

 

 

I swayed from side to side, the shorter girl following my movements as her white dress fluttered around her. “You’ve come a long way since your first dance lesson, you know?”

 

“Yeah, I guess I have,” she smiled.

 

With a guiding hand, I spun Haruhi around before passing her off to my brother, watching as she takes his hand and places the other above his injured arm. Before even taking the first step together, she stood on his left foot, causing him to recoil in pain before laughing it off with her. _Well, at least he seems more confident than the last time they danced_ , I thought, thinking back to our mother’s party where Hikaru could barely pluck up the courage to ask her to join us.

 

A set of hands snaked around me from behind and gently moved me from side to side, being loose enough for me to turn and find a redressed (Y/N) grinning up at me. Her beautiful white dress had been covered in dirt from the earlier fall, ending up like Hikaru’s coat that was discarded before the dance, but as she stood there in a clean red dress, I felt myself falling under the spell that many might call love. We didn’t speak as I took her hand, guiding her across the floor and occasionally passing Haruhi who kept bouncing between hosts, eventually ending with Tamaki. “I’m still Team Hikaru,” (Y/N) joked, watching the blonde and brunette happily dance, “But, only time will tell.”

 

 _Yes, it will_. With that thought in mind, I slowly spun her like I had with Haruhi before pulling her close and placing my lips over hers. I stopped caring about who saw, whether it be my brother, the club, or even the guests. I knew I was falling in love, so I might as well show it. I felt her smile into the kiss and I couldn’t help but do the same, she just had this effect on me, one that made me feel like nothing but us mattered.

 

Separating for air, I didn’t dare move back very far, scared that doing so would break the bubble that was this moment. The beautiful carriage that is the Host Club almost fell apart today, almost reverting back to a sad old pumpkin, but just like Cinderella, we persevered, we pushed until we got our happy ending.

 

“I love you.”


	22. An Ending, Achieved!

**Reader’s POV**

 

“Are you in position?”

 

“Yeah, South-East corner of the roof. Ready to enter when you are,” I spoke lowly into the earpiece. William informed me to hold position for a little longer, but I didn’t relax my stance on the cleanly tiled roof in case we had to make a quick entrance to the Masaki residence where a large business party was currently being held. Both Ohta and Mitsugi should be in the main hall, tending to their associates and partners. I did, however, take a moment to marvel at my new attire – a form fitting black ensemble that was easier to move in than my old jeans and hoodie. The top was designed to look like a leather corset, a metal zipper barely visible down the middle as it matched the black background of the outfit while the legging-like pants were thick enough to fend off cold weather but made of a breathable cotton, similar to the hood that at this very moment laid over my head, concealing my identity. _Yuzuha did an amazing job with this_.

 

My grandfathers voice echoed through the speaker in my ear, “Okay, enter the window below and take out Kiyabu. Inform me when you do, then we can proceed with Katai and Masaki.”

 

Kiyabu Masaki, an unfortunate boy that fell prey to his father’s ways. _You’ve dug your own grave, and I’m sorry that it’s come to this_.

 

 

 _I sat in the clubroom with Kyoya and the twins. The youngest Ootori had insisted that he had some useful information for me regarding my current targets, Ohta Katai and Mitsugi Masaki, and the twins insisted on following me around for the remainder of the day since they would be dragging me to their home later in the evening for dinner._ Mrs. Hitachiin really is treating me like the daughter she never had, _I thought. Not to mention I would also be collecting my brand new robes from her._

_“So what’s this important news, Kyoya-senpai?” Hikaru began, arms laid across his chest as he leaned back in his chair, one ankle propped against the opposite leg’s knee._

_“(Y/N), remember when you told everyone about the injury you received on Halloween? I recall you mentioning that you followed strange sound down the hallway before getting blind-sided in a dark room where Kaoru and Class 1-A’s representative found you.” I only nodded towards him, indicating that I understood exactly what he was talking about. “Well, I have my suspicions about who it was that attacked you.”_

_This had me sitting straight in my seat, Kaoru’s arm dropping from my shoulders to my lower back, “You know who it is?”_

_“Correction: I know who it_ might _be,” and with that, he turned his signature laptop around until the screen was in full view. A picture of an Ouran third-year student was filling the screen, his dark red hair and deep blue eyes immediately reminding me of a familiar face._

_“Is this-“_

_“Kiyabu Masaki?”_

_Kyoya nodded in response to the twins. I sat in shock for what felt like an eternity,_ Masaki? Mitsugi sent his son after me… Which means he’s been onto me since after Shirai Shika’s death. _“So, Kiyabu tried to kill me- or at least send a message, likely under orders from his father…”_

_“I would assume so, yes.”_

 

 

“Entering now.”

 

I quietly swung myself downwards, slipping into the house through an open window before crouching as low as I could to the floor. Most of the security littering the estate would be centred around the main hall, but that didn’t mean there would be no one lingering throughout the rest of the house. Kiyabu was supposedly a tad socially awkward, therefore it would be likely that he’d spend as little time at the party as possible, retreating to his personal quarters hours before the party was scheduled to end.

 

Thanks to Rebecca’s amazing tech skills, I was sent a detailed blueprint of the Masaki manor and was able to memorise all the important rooms such as Kiyabu’s, the main hall and any closets where I might be able to hide in case of an emergency.

 

It didn’t take long to reach his bedroom, only having to hide in one broom closet to avoid a patrolling guard. The faint light slipping out from under the door indicated that he was already inside, so all I had to do was sneak in and get to him before he knew I was there, _can’t have him calling for help; we’d blow the mission and it would be all my fault_. “Finding him in his bedroom now,” I whispered, pressing down on the ear piece. Thankfully, the door didn’t make a sound as I slipped into the room, the light barely reflecting off of the dull grey walls and lessening any shadows my frame might cast. The boy sat on a double bed in the opposite end of the room, face buried in his hands while his nails dug into the edge of his scalp. He didn’t hear me as I slowly approached him from his left, a surprised gasp leaving him once my right hand clutched onto the white dress shirt and black tie, using that arm to pin him to the wall next to the headboard of the bed he had just been dragged from.

 

He prepared himself to scream, but froze in his action when my left hand rose toward his neck, my hidden blade sliding from it’s sheath and pressing dangerously to his skin. “Kiyabu Masaki. It was you, wasn’t it? The one who attacked me a couple months ago.”

 

“Fuck…” he whispered, his voice edging on fear before turning more hostile, “I should have just killed you since you’re too stupid to stay away!”

 

“Oh, so I’m the stupid one? Do you really think you could get away with killing me? Unlike you, I know how to do this. Just because dear old dad knows how to evade the law doesn’t mean you’re capable too,” I inched the blade closer to his throat, a small smile reaching my face at the sound of his pathetic whimper. “You really are all talk, aren’t you?”

 

He clenched his teeth, “You and your Assassin friends won’t get away with this, you know? My father is a wealthy and respected man! People will miss him, and they’ll find you and put you down!”

 

 _I should have known, he’s too far gone to be helped now. He really has dug his own grave, or perhaps his father dug it for him, and he’s just willing to accept that_. “That’s where you’re wrong,” I kept my voice low, expecting that it would sound all the more daunting when my words reached his ears, “No one will miss the Masaki name, just the business he ran. But even so, it won’t be long before something better comes along; there are many people who are ready to jump at the chance to buy the company from his cold, dead hands.”

 

His eyes darkened, a tell-tale sign that he understood what I meant, that he knew it was true. From the corner of my eye, I saw his hand clutching for a desk lamp – a last ditch effort at fighting back, all for his thieving family name.

 

“I am sorry for this, but you made your choice. Assassins work in the dark to serve the light, and the Templars will never be a part of that light. You’ll remain in the dark, forever. I hope you find peace in death…” Without a second to spare, the life in his eyes drained away like the blood in his veins, the red liquid oozing from his jugular and coating the silver blade. _You sold your soul too soon, you were too young for this, but your fate was sealed when you followed your father like the groomed pet he expected you to be._

 

 

I hid in the corner of the balcony that hung almost twenty feet above the floor of the main hall, watching as waiters weaved through the crowd to offer guests food and drinks only to be waved away like pests. I could see William from across the room on the adjacent balcony, his hand reaching up to press against his ear piece, “I’ve located Mitsugi, can you see Ohta?”

 

“Yes, sir. Speaking to the lady in pink by the lounge door.”

 

And by the lounge door he was, blue eyes focused on a younger blonde woman that vied for his attention every time another person joined the conversation. _She must be interested in the family business. Kind of smart that she’s aiming for the less attention catching brother who had less of a muscular build than the other – even his hair was darker, probably dyed in order to separate him from his high-profile brother._

 

“Get yourself ready, we strike on my order,” he spoke, tilting his head to his right, indicating that I should get into position above Ohta.

 

Once standing in the perfect place, I received a fast confirmation that now was the time to do it. In near-perfect sync, I placed my foot onto the railing as William did the same before launching ourselves over the edge, his height and stature causing him to fall slightly faster. His blade pierced the area just below Mitsugi’s neck as his knees hit his shoulder blades, sending them both to the floor with a loud thump. Barely a second later and I did the same to his unfortunate brother, my already bloody blade going straight through his skull and causing him to land limply on the floor.

 

Screams echoed around the room, people backing away from the dead and dying bodies on the floor while also making sure to keep the Assassins in sight; the last thing they all wanted was to be attacked too.

 

Silently, I rose from my perch on the unmoving body of Ohta Katai, turning with my head down and walking towards my grandfather and a gasping Mitsugi Masaki. “Mitsugi, today you suffer the consequences of your crimes. You have sided with the Templars for too long and pay with your life. What do you have to say for yourself?”

 

“I’ll f-fucking kill… you… Fucking Assassins…”

 

“No, you won’t. You’re done ruining peoples lives,” I whispered, lowering myself onto one knee before I lunged my stained blade down into his neck. He sputtered, blood splattering his lips with each weak cough before finally, he ceased to breathe. We pulled away from the lifeless body, wiping down our blades on his clothes in order to not track evidence around when we leave.

 

From beneath his hood, William looked at me, “Remember, you go right.” With a small nod, I walked away from him and closer to the crowd around us, who quickly responded by taking multiple steps back. Security was aware of the situation by now, men in dark suits filing through various entry ways; most notably, six men descending the main staircase that split off in two directions. They stood at the bottom in an attempt to block us from escaping, but were easy to evade by jumping onto the bannister and sprinting along it faster than they could run up the stairs. Just as William said, I dodged the guards by running to the right-hand side towards the West wing while he went left, towards the East wing.

 

Staying away from the other guards was simple after that, escaping from the residence and fleeing the property was the final order of business, then this mission would officially be over. _And I’ll head straight to my new favourite place_ , I thought, a giddy smile forcing its way across my lips.

 

“You did good tonight. You’ve come a long way in such a short amount of time, I’m proud of you.” I met up with the master assassin in a small park that was a ten minute run from the Masaki manor, a bright smile taking over my face as he praised my skills.

 

“I would never have gotten this far if it wasn’t for you,” I nodded in appreciation. An unmarked car pulled up in that moment, headlights dipped to draw less attention as it waited for the older man. “Thank you for coming here, I always appreciate working with you, sir.”

 

He smiled faintly, large hand smoothing down my hair and pushing my hood back, “You remind me so much of my son, though you definitely didn’t get your manners from him. I know he would have loved you,” he mumbled with a strained voice, eyes closed as he leaned down to press a kiss against my forehead. “Now go on, go see that boyfriend of yours.”

 

 

I climbed silently up the side of the house with thankfully clean hands. After saying my goodbyes to William, I washed my hands and blade in a nearby river to rid them of the blood collected from the three victims whose lives I took barely an hour ago, their faces now forgotten as I prepared myself to knock on the large window.

 

Three light taps was all it took before the identical faces appeared on the other side. “Told you she was fine,” Hikaru teased, voice muffled by the glass. Kaoru nudged his brother with a faint blush before cracking open the window to let me inside, arm extended to give me a hand. Once inside, the younger of the twins had his arms around me in a comforting embrace, his head buried into my shoulder and hands clinging to the back of my jacket.

 

I chuckled, “You act as if I were in danger.”

 

“I just miss you, okay?” he grumbled, pulling away with his head tuned to the side. His cheeks were glowing a very obvious red, “With you getting ready for your last mission, I haven’t seen you in almost a week…”

 

“He wouldn’t stop talking about how he wanted to hold your hand or stroke your hair-“

 

“Hikaru!”

 

I laughed at the duo, pulling Hikaru into a brief hug then placing a gentle kiss to Kaoru’s cheek. Their presence relaxed me greatly and, inevitably, led me to realise just how tired I was. “Well, starting tomorrow I’m going to be free until Rebecca and Shaun tell me otherwise, meaning that you guys get to occupy as many of my waking hours as you please.”

 

Their signature cheeky grins were all I needed to see before resigning myself to sleep, Kaoru offering to walk me to the guest bedroom before he would return to his and his brother’s shared room.

 

“I think mom expects you to start living here, you know,” his playful voice reached my ears, a hint of bashfulness lacing his words as he pushed open the door to the bedroom. It was different from the last time I stayed here, the first change being that the walls were now painted to be a muted version of my favourite colour while frilled white curtains hung around the windows. There were multiple pictures hung on the walls too, ones that I could easily recognise as old paintings from famous Italian and American artists, “She kinda went all out on making it appeal to you.”

 

“Gesù Cristo... Don’t... don’t you think it’s a little much?” His face seemed to drop, so I was quick to reword my question, “I mean, I’d be happy to spend more nights here, but isn’t decorating my own room with so much expensive stuff a little... over the top?”

 

Now understanding what I meant, he merely shook his head with a small grin, “Nah, mom loves you – not as much as I do, though. She considers you a part of this family now, we all do, so it’s only right to give you your own room to stay in. You don’t have to live with us or anything if that’s not what you want! It’s just- you know… there, if you want it…” He was a blushing mess again, arms lowering after being waved around while defending his explanation.

 

I watched him with a loving smile, arms slowly wrapping themselves around his middle and my head resting against his chest, this angle giving me the perfect opportunity to listen to his erratic -yet calming- heartbeat. “I’ll gladly accept the room- but I’m not living here! For one, it’d be less safe for your family if I legally lived here. And two, I’d rather spend nights here as a visit. It’ll make them more special if it’s not every night.” He released an understanding hum, mouth and nose pressed against my hair. “But hey, if you don’t get sick of me too fast, I would love to move in with you some day.”

 

“I’d be an idiot to stop loving you.”

 

I beamed, “I love you too, my little devil.”


End file.
